Life With Ari
by Mikaila Railyn Avery
Summary: Sequel to Life As A Teenage Parent, follow Alex and Mitchie as they go through Life with Ari, better trailer inside
1. Trailer

**From that tiny baby in the NICU**

_*Alex sitting with Ariana in the hospital, holding her for the first time*_

**To becoming a High school Graduate**

_*18 year old Ariana standing with her classmates at graduation*_

**Ariana Russo is growing up**

_* 5 year old Ariana heading into her classroom on her first day of school*_

**Join Alex, Mitchie, Ariana and some new faces**

_*6 year old Ariana holding her newborn sibling*_

**And some old faces too**

_*7 year old Ari and 9 year old Jaiden playing in Jaiden's backyard while their parents watch*_

**What challenges Will everyone face**

_*13 year old Ari crying as she sees Jaiden with his new girlfriend*_

**When they live…**

_*pictures of Ariana over the years*_

**Life With Ari**

**Coming to Fan fiction October 1st**** 2010. **

So….what y'all think?check my profile for the Life With Ari poster! And this story will be updated every Sunday night, so think of it as an online TV show =)


	2. Chap 1

**Chapter 1: Ariana's First Birthday**

The two weeks that separated Alex and Ariana's birthdays went by like nothing and soon the big day had arrived. It was the morning of May 3rd and to Alex's disbelief it was finally her baby girl's first birthday.

It was around 7 in the morning and Alex had just woken up. Mitchie had already left for school earlier and wouldn't be back until later that afternoon once her classes were done. Alex got out of bed and headed into the next bedroom where Ariana was happily playing in her crib.

"Hey baby girl, happy birthday." Alex said as she kissed Ariana.

"Okay so what are you going to wear today?" Alex pondered. She looked through the dresser drawer and picked out a double sleeved pink shirt that had "cutie pie" written on it and a denim skirt. Once Ariana's hair was done in two ponytails she was all ready to go. Alex brought Ariana into the kitchen and started making the new traditional Russo-Torres birthday breakfast, Scrambled eggs, toast and sausage. It was a special occasion and a special occasion meant special meals and traditions. Once Ariana was fed Alex made her own breakfast and started looking through the list of things she had to get ready for the party later that night. To celebrate Alex was inviting family and friends over for dinner (which was the ever traditional birthday dinner of pizza) and cake. She was making about 5 different pizza's so it was going to take quite a while to make all the dough. At around 11:30 Alison had come over to help decorate the apartment for the party

"Hey Lex." Alison greeted as she walked into the kitchen, Jaiden resting comfortably on his mother's hip. Right away Ariana saw Alison and grinned wildly and started happily freaking out.

"Hey pretty girl. Happy birthday." Alison said as she gave Ariana a kiss on her head as she smiled happily. Alison couldn't help but giggle, the little girl was too cute for words.

"Okay so how do we want to do this?" Alison asked as they surveyed the house once breakfast had been finished and Jaiden and Ariana were playing with toys in the living room.

"Well I was thinking we could hang a few streamers around the living room, there are some balloons we could blow up and hang up, and the kitchen table that needs to be set up, but that can wait till later. Oh and once the table's set up we'll start putting out the food, cups, plates and cutlery." Alex said. Alison nodded and the girls got to work. As far as the theme went they were sticking to a princess theme. The cakes they had ordered from Magnolia Bakery were both light pink and purple, one was for the guests and one was a smasher cake for Ari which was like a miniature version of the guest's cake, except it only had the candle instead of an edible tiara. And the decorations were all pink and the plates, cups and napkins and plates had 1st Birthday Princess written on them. After setting up some of the pink, purple and white streamers around the apartment and blowing up the balloons the decorating was done. The girls finished just in time because just as they finished it was around 1 o'clock which was Ariana's nap time.

"Come on guys, nap time." Alex said as she picked up Ariana and Ariana started squirming and whining.

"Honey, you have to go for a nap. And when naptimes over were going to have your birthday party." Alex said as she placed her daughter in her crib. Ariana cried for a few minutes but eventually fell asleep

"So she should be down for the next 2 or 3 hours so that gives me some time to clean up around here." Alex said as she looked around at the newly decorated apartment.

"Okay well we'll be over later. See ya." Alison said as she and Jaiden (who was nearly half asleep) left.

"Bye. Thanks for your help Ali. I really appreciate it." Alex said giving her friend a hug before she left.

"No problem." Alison smiled.

Over the next two hours while Ariana napped Alex managed to get all the food for the party out and prepared all 5 pizza's she had set out to make. At around 3:30 Mitchie came home

"Hey babe." Mitchie said as she gave Alex a kiss

"Hey, What do you think?" Alex asked as she looked around the apartment, proud of the work she and Alison had accomplished.

"It looks amazing. You need help with anything else?" Mitchie asked. She felt bad leaving Alex and Alison to do all the work.

"No I think we got it covered. But do you think you could throw the cheese pizza into the oven?" Alex asked.

"I need to get the birthday girl up so I have enough time to get her ready."

"Sure no problem." Mitchie said as she grabbed the pizza from the fridge and threw it in the oven.

"Ari, honey time to get up." Alex said lifting the baby out of her crib. The little girl rubbed her eyes a bit as Alex picked her up and brought her over to the change table.

"You wanna wear your pretty birthday outfit?" Alex asked as she un-dress Ariana and pulled out the outfit she had planned for her to wear, a onesie with a 1 in a brown and white polka doted circle and a light pink tutu. After putting her hair in a ponytail she brought her out to the living room.

"Hey Ari." Mitchie cooed as Ari happily started crawling over to Mitchie.

"Ma!" Ariana shrieked happily as Mitchie picked her up. Over the last week or so Ariana had started calling both Mitchie and Alex ma, and mama.

"You ready for your party?" Mitchie asked kissing the little girl's cheek. Ariana just giggled happily while the girls got the last minute things ready.

It was now 5:30 and soon everyone started piling in. The first to arrive was Mitchie's 25 year old sister Dallas, her 3 year old daughter Nichole and her boyfriend Conner. Then Came Alex's mom, dad and Max and Mitchie's mom and dad, and much more friends and family followed. After all family was present and accounted for the party got started.

"Okay everyone if you're hungry there's Hawaiian, Pepperoni, Deluxe and Cheese pizza ready. The meat lover's pizza should be done in a few minutes." Alex told all the guests. In a matter of seconds everyone was lined up ready to grab a slice of pizza.

"Whoa I didn't realize people were that hungry." Alex commented looking at the pizzas which all together had about 6 slices left. Taking one of the smaller pieces and cutting it up in small pieces on a plate Alex fed Ariana small pieces of pizza. This was the first time Ariana had actually had "adult food" as Alex called it and so far she seemed to like it. After everyone was stuffed from pizza it was time for presents.

_For a special granddaughter who's one today!_

Wishing you a birthday that's as special as you!

_With lots of love_

_Nana and Grampa_

Alex read the card aloud, Ariana sitting comfortably in her lap. Once she had read the card she let Ari open the bag and after pulling out the paper Ariana pulled out the plush princess doll house and a princess doll that had a sash reading "Happy 1st Birthday!". Alex thanked her mom and dad and of course Ariana giggled while playing with the princess doll. The next present up was from Alison, Chase and Jaiden.

_Happy birthday to you __Hip hip hooray  
Today is your 1st birthday  
Fun and games galore  
And toys by the score  
Here's a wish that today  
Is the 1st and best in every which way_

_From Alison, Chase and Jaiden_

Ariana started ripping off the wrapping paper in the midst of Alex reading the card and when the last shreds of paper came off it revealed a baby plush tea party set, complete with two tea cups, a croissant and a cupcake.

_Happy Birthday to a sweet niece!_

_As far as sweet nieces go _

_You take the cake and presents too!_

_Wishing a happy 1__st__ birthday to you_

_From Uncle Max_

Alex helped Ariana open the present and inside was a huge trunk of dress up clothes and accessories she could play with when she got a little older. The list of presents went on and by the end Ariana had a huge pile of new toys and clothes.

"Okay is everyone ready for cake?" Alex asked. Everyone nodded and gave their replies and with that Mitchie got the smash cake from the counter.

_Happy birthday to you _

_Happy Birthday to you_

_Happy birthday dear Ari _

_Happy birthday to you_

Alex placed the small cake in front of Ariana as everyone clapped. The baby eyed the cake suspiciously before she stuck her hand on it and started smashing into it. Squeals, giggles and laughs was all that could be heard while the newly one year old played with her cake and everyone else had a piece of the bigger cake. It was around seven o clock when the party finally came to a close and the last guests had left. At around seven thirty Alex could tell Ariana was getting tired, she was yawning like crazy and rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"Lets go get jammy's on okay?" Alex said. She felt Ariana cuddle into her shoulder and brought her up to the room. When they got into the bedroom Alex found the birthday card she had set aside for Ariana.

"Want me to read you your card honey?" Alex asked giving Ariana a kiss on the top of her head while she sat on her lap

_If there ever was a daughter_

_who's perfect in every way_

_then it's the very special daughter_

_whose first birthday it is today_

_for, from the day that you were born_

_you have shone just like a star_

_and words could not express_

_just how wonderful you are_

_you bring such joy to us_

_you really ought to know_

_that you're a very special daughter_

_and everybody loves you so!_

_Have a very special_

_first birthday_

_Love mommy and momma_

After reading the birthday card Alex kissed her daughter on her cheek and tucked her into bed.

"Night baby, happy birthday." Alex said as she left the room.

"Well that was a tiring day." Alex said as she sat down on the couch with Mitchie.

"Hey, the party turned out great." Mitchie said as she gave Alex a kiss.

"Thanks. I just can't believe she's one already." Alex said in disbelief. It was true. It seemed like it was last week she had found out she was pregnant and somehow time had flown by at warp speed and BAM her baby was 1.

"I know. But I say we've done a pretty good job this last year don't you?" Mitchie asked. Alex nodded and rested her head on Mitchie's shoulder. Turning on the TV they settled in and started watching a re-run of FRIENDS.

"They really need to bring this show back." Alex said. When Mitchie didn't reply Alex looked at her sleeping girlfriend and a smile made its way on Alex's face as she covered Mitchie up a little more with the blanket they had been using.

"Night babe." Alex said as she kissed Mitchie on the forehead and made sure she was fully covered up before cuddling up with her. Memories from the past year filled her brain the whole time as she lay there with a sleeping Mitchie next to her. Never in her 19 years of life did she imagine that she would be the mother of a 1 year old daughter, or have the best girlfriend that anyone could give her. Her life had changed drastically in the last year, but she knew that as much as her life had changed in the last 12 months, she still had 17 years to go.

**Sorry this chapter was a day late, I was staying at my grandmas(who doesn't have internet) and when I did get home to internet the entire town's internet and cable was down! So this chapter officially starts the longest story I will have ever written. I hope you all enjoy it =)**


	3. Chap 2

**Chapter 2: Texas here we come!**

August had now approached and Mitchie and Alex had a surprise for Ariana. Since they were both starting school next month (and the Russo's had yet to take their annual summer trip) they were taking Ariana to Texas so she could meet the family in Grand Prairie. Since Alex and Mitchie were just moving into the dorm and getting settled they missed last years trip to Texas, but now that Ariana was older they had decided they were going to go this year. They were going to be staying for 2 weeks so they needed to pack at least 2 outfits per day for Ariana. So that's 28 outfits, not even including Pyjama's. Alex grabbed a duffle bag and began picking out Ariana's clothes for the trip.

"Honey I need that." Alex giggled as Ariana grabbed one of the shirts she had in a pile and tried to take off with it.

"Wanna play with Peter?"

Alex passed Ariana her toy bunny and right away Ariana sat on the carpet beside her mother and contently started playing with her toy.

"Now, we got bottles, blankets, toys, brush, hair ties, clothes and comfort items." Alex mentally said checking everything over.

"I think we're all good."

"Lex, where do you want me to put the bags?" Mitchie asked carrying two duffel bags to the door of the bedroom. As an agreement Mitchie had packed her and Alex's bags while Alex packed Ariana's.

"Just by the front door, that way we can just grab them on the way out." Alex replied. After putting in the final shirt and dress Alex zipped up the duffle bag and put it with the other bags.

"Now time to get you to bed." Alex said picking up Ariana and placed her in the crib.

"Night baby." Alex said giving Ariana a kiss and heading out of the room.

"So what time do we have to get up tomorrow?" Mitchie asked once Alex had closed the bedroom door.

"Probably just before 7 depending on how early we want to be there." Alex replied.

"Our flight leaves at around 10 so we need to be at the airport by 9."

"Okay I'll set the alarm for 6:45 that way we have some extra time just in case we need it." Mitchie said. It was around 11:30 before they finally got to sleep and in no time 6:45 had arrived. Before Alex started the coffee she went and quickly checked on Ariana and headed into the kitchen.

"What time is it?" Alex asked a few minutes later as she took a container and filled it with Cheerios. So far the girls had been up for twenty minutes and right then they were in the midst of making a breakfast on the go.

"Five after seven" Mitchie answered as she spread some cream cheese on two bagels and filled two coffee mugs with coffee.

"Okay, do you mind putting just a little more Cheerios in the container while I get Ari up?" Alex asked. Mitchie agreed and Alex headed into Ariana's room to get her up.

"Morning sleepy head." Alex greeted picking up Ariana from her crib.

"You ready to go on the plane today?"

After changing Ariana's diaper Alex grabbed the pink track suit and a plain white shirt from the closet and started dressing Ariana. Once Ariana was finally dressed Alex picked out her outfit, a simple grey top and her favourite denim Capri's. Finally she was changed and after she put her hair in a neat ponytail everyone was ready to go.

"So we got everything?" Alex asked. Mitchie looked over the list and mentally checked off everything as she put the bags into the trunk of the car and Alex put Ariana in her car seat.

"Yep, we're good to go." Mitchie announced and with that they were all off to the airport.

"Are we all just meeting up at the airport?" Mitchie asked.

"Yep. Mom phoned me earlier and she said they'd meet us outside." Alex answered. A few minutes later they pulled into the airport parking lot and while Alex got Ariana out of her car seat, Mitchie pulled out the luggage.

"Hey guys, need some help?" Theresa called out a few parking spots away.

"Please, these bags are seriously heavy." Mitchie said. Theresa laughed and helped Mitchie put their luggage on a cart.

"Thanks. Where's everyone else?" Mitchie asked.

"They headed inside a few minutes ago, they wanted to check in so I told them I'd wait outside for you guys" Theresa said.

"Okay we're all ready to go." Alex said as she threw Ariana's diaper bag over her shoulder and the girls headed into the airport. After checking in and getting through security they waited about an hour or so before the boarding announcement finally came on.

"Attention everyone, flight 205 destined to Dallas, Texas is now boarding, anyone flying with young children are asked to board now. Please proceed to gate g29 at this time, Thank you." The announcer said.

"That's us." Alex said as she held Ariana and adjusted her in her arms.

They boarded the plane and soon all the other passengers boarded. Ariana looked around the plane and seemed to be fascinated by everything, this being her very first time on a plane.

After getting the safety demonstration the plane roared to life and started going down the runway. Within a few minutes the plane was air born. Of course Ariana was startled at first but eventually got used to it. For most of the trip Ariana slept, making it a very smooth flight for the mothers and passengers. After the nearly 4 hour flight they touched down in Grand Prairie.

"Hey guys!" Theresa's sister, Cristina greeted. Along with Christina was her husband Samuel and their three kids: 5 year old twins Carter and Sophia and their 3 year old little brother Devin. Right away Cristina saw the little girl in her niece's arms and the girl standing beside her.

"And who are these lovely ladies?" Cristina asked looking at Ariana and Mitchie.

"Aunt Cris, this is my girlfriend Mitchie." Alex introduced as Mitchie shook Cristina and Sam's hands

"And this is my daughter Ariana."

Alex let Cristina hold Ariana and it didn't take a lot to see how much the little girl looked like her mother.

"She's gorgeous Alex; she looks so much like you when you were a baby." Cristina commented. Alex smiled brightly as her aunt played with Ariana and right away the twins wanted a turn holding her.

"Maybe when we get home, we need to get every ones stuff first okay?" Alex told her cousins as Cristina handed Ariana back to her mother so they could get going.

"So how was the flight?" Cristina asked as the group headed to baggage claim.

"Good. Ari was fine; she slept most of the flight which was great." Alex reported. After claiming their luggage they hopped into the rental van Alex's parents had rented and headed to Cristina's house where they were going to be staying.

"Need any help aunt Cris?" Alex offered. Mitchie was outside with Ariana playing so Alex decided to see if her aunt needed a hand with dinner.

"No I think I got it honey." Cristina said.

"Okay, just call me if you need help." Alex told her as she headed out back with Mitchie and Ariana.

That day they had planned check out the Traders Village Flea Market for a couple hours before they got ready for the big annual Russo Family Summer Barbeque that night. As far as the flea Market went it was one of the biggest flea markets and most-visited weekend flea markets and festivals in Texas. Both Mitchie and Alex had gone to Traders Village when they were younger and always had fun every time they had gone. Right now it was about 10 and Mitchie was trying to find Ariana so Alex could change her. As she looked in the bedrooms she saw Ariana was in the twin's rooms playing with one of their toys.

"Honey we need to get dressed and ready to go out." Mitchie said as she picked up her daughter and headed to the room where Alex was.

"Special delivery." Mitchie announced as she brought Ariana into the bedroom to get changed.

"Hey baby. Where did you run off to?" Alex cooed as she kissed Ariana's cheek.

"She was in the twin's bedroom playing with their toys. I got to her before any harm or drool came to the teddy bears." Mitchie joked.

"The teddy bears are in your debt saviour Torres." Alex giggled as she put Ari's flower shirt on. After putting Ariana in some denim shorts and sandals everyone headed out to the Flea Market.

"This is crazier than I remember." Alex commented as she pushed Ariana in her stroller as they walked the market grounds. There were hundreds of people covering the over 100 acre area visiting the variety of vendors. They passed a couple food booths, by far the best one was the booth selling donuts made right then and there, and took a look through the numerous clothing booths, they even got 3 new tutu's for Ariana and the twins. Over the next several hours the Russo, Torres, and Cruz's ventured around the market before they had to head home to get ready for the family dinner later that night.

"So you excited to meet the family?" Alex asked as she put Ariana down for her nap. She could tell by the look on her girlfriends face that Mitchie was a little scared.

"Nervous is more like it." Mitchie admitted.

"Don't worry, they'll love you." Alex assured her as she gave Mitchie a kiss.

For the family dinner Theresa and Cristina were making a turkey dinner with everything: stuffing, potatoes, veggies, cranberry sauce, salad, everything. In the midst of the cooking chaos all the family that lived in Texas arrived: Theresa's brothers Carlos, Ernesto, Joseph and Matt and her sisters Maya, Natalia and Sophia. And of course there were the cousins: Lauren, Michael, Amy, Alexis, Leah, Hayden, Hunter, Santana and a few others. Needless to say the house was packed. Right away when everyone started showing up Mitchie was a little nervous. She wanted everyone to like her so the pressure was a little nerve wracking. For the first bit of the dinner Mitchie stayed close to Alex but eventually Mitchie warmed up to meeting everyone.

"So Alex, how did you and Mitchie meet?" Alex's cousin Santana asked. Alex smiled as she thought back nearly 2 years ago.

"Well she moved here just after 12th grade started and she was new at school. Mr. Crawley asked her to sit by me and eventually everything just clicked after that." Alex answered.

"How did she take it when she found out you were pregnant?"

"I think she took it well, she really wanted me to tell my parents and she was there for me and Ari when she was in the hospital." Alex replied.

"When I was telling Jacob that I was pregnant she stood up for me since Jacob wanted me to get an abortion. She told him he was making a big mistake and then told him to basically get lost"

"Wow, so she's a keeper huh?" Santana asked. Alex looked over at Mitchie, who was currently lightly tossing Ariana in the air making the baby girl giggle uncontrollably. Mitchie had a huge smile plastered on her face and in no time Alex the same huge smile just watching her girlfriend play with her daughter.

"Yeah, she is." Alex smiled.

"Dinner!" Theresa called to the living room and everyone began to gather in the kitchen. Once everyone had picked out some food they sat down and talked amongst each other. Of course with so many people the conversations overlapped but that's what Alex loved about having such a big family. There was always so much "chaos" as she liked to put it and there was never a quiet or dull moment the entire time. At around nine thirty every one had cleared out of the house.

"So what did you think of everybody?" Alex asked as she and Mitchie curled up in bed. It was around 11 and Alex had just finished getting Ariana back to sleep.

"They were really nice. Especially Leah. We seemed to get along pretty well." Mitchie answered. While Alex was busy chatting with Santana after dinner she saw Mitchie and Leah sitting close by talking and laughing. She knew how nervous Mitchie was and she was happy she got along with at least one person.

"Yeah Leah and me were like best friends when we were little. Our moms would always get together and we would just go off and play Barbie's in my room. It was awesome." Alex smiled. For the next little bit Alex told Mitchie countless stories about her and Leah's adventures when they were little, one specifically about the shoe flinging contest they had which resulted in Leah getting her shoe caught in a tree, and eventually the girls both fell asleep in each others arms

_*Dream*_

"_Do you Alexandra Margareta Russo take Michaela Katheryn Torres to be your lawfully wedded wife?" the priest asked._

"_I do." Alex answered, a huge smile planted on her face as she placed the ring on Mitchie's finger._

"_And do you, Michaela Katheryn Torres take Alexandra Margareta Russo as your lawfully wedded wife?" the priest asked._

"_I do." Mitchie answered as she placed the ring on Alex's finger. As the priest announced that he pronounced them as wives, Mitchie kissed her bride and everyone applauded._

"_I love you." Mitchie smiled as they broke apart._

"_I love you too." Alex replied as she took Mitchie's hand and they ran through the crowd as they were pelted with rice_

"_Guess you're stuck with me now." Mitchie smirked._

"_I think I can live with that." Alex said as she placed a kiss on Mitchie's lips. After a moment they broke apart, huge grins plastered on both their faces as they headed to their reception._

_*end dream*_

Alex smiled in her sleep and moved in closer into Mitchie. What she had told Santana was true, Mitchie was truly a keeper. She had stuck with her when no one else would, and she was amazing with Ariana. In the last almost two years Alex had realized Mitchie was truly the one and she wasn't letting her go anytime soon.

**Sorry the chapter is late today, stupid fanfiction was being difficult but now its all better :D and was anyone else disapointed at the false LOVEZ reunion?**


	4. Chap 3

**Chapter 3: Visits to a pumpkin patch **

After their two week stay in Texas Mitchie, Alex, Ariana and the rest of the Russo family headed back to New York and in no time school had started up again, this time for both Alex and Mitchie. Alex had to admit leaving Ariana for the entire day was hard, but it was just something she had to get used to.

_*flashback*_

"_I don't think I can do it Mitch." Alex said for possibly the tenth time that morning (but to Mitchie it might as well have been the millionth). It was nearly 7:30 and all three of the girls had to be out of the apartment by 8. It was Alex's first day at school and it was obvious leaving her little girl at the daycare wasn't going to be easy for her. _

"_Babe she'll be okay. It's only until three thirty." Mitchie assured her. As Alex packed a bag for Ariana she looked over at her daughter who was at the moment playing contently with one of her toys and still couldn't believe she was going to have to leave her for the day. _

"_Baby, mommy doesn't want to leave you today." Alex said as she picked up her daughter and gave her a kiss. Ariana looked at her mother with curiosity._

"_Bye?" the little girl asked. _

"_Yeah, mommy has to go bye-bye for a bit today." Alex replied. Soon it was the time Alex had dreaded, dropping Ariana off at daycare. Since she needed to find a place that was between her and Mitchie's schools she had searched for a while but finally found Little Steps Daycare which was about 5 minutes away from the Fashion Institute. After saying goodbye to Mitchie and Mitchie wishing her good luck Alex drove off with Ariana and after a 10 minute drive they arrived at Little Steps. As soon as Alex walked in one of the workers, Karah greeted her._

"_Hey Alex." Karah greeted. Thankfully Karah was the one who did the interview with Alex so it was a little more calming for her to see a somewhat familiar face._

"_Hey Karah, so I'm pretty sure everything is in her bag. If there's anything else just call me on my cell and if I can't answer just leave a voicemail." Alex said reluctantly handing off Ariana to Karah. As soon as Alex said her goodbyes and told Ariana to be a good girl Ariana started screeching and crying for her mother. It took all of Alex's power not to go and grab her daughter and bring her to school with her. Instead she just kept walking holding back the tears she knew wanted to fall._

_*End flashback*_

Thankfully later that day when Alex had gone to pick up Ariana Karah reported that Ariana had done fine a while after Alex had left. After about a week it was finally easier for Alex to leave Ariana for the day while she was at school. By now it was late October and that crisp Saturday afternoon Alex and Mitchie were meeting up with Alison, Chase and Jaiden and bringing the kids to Benner's Farm so they could each pick out a pumpkin and after they each picked one they were going to take a quick Hayride around the farm.

It was around 10 o'clock and Alex had just finished dressing Ariana in her light pink baby gap sweater and jeans.

"Babe, could you grab a hair tie from the bathroom for me?" Alex asked as she took some of Ariana's hair and put it in a little pony tail. Mitchie came in the bedroom and handed the hair tie to her girlfriend and finally they were ready to go. The drive to the Farm was about half an hour long but thankfully Ariana was pre occupied by her toys in the car to really whine about being stuck in the car.

"Hey guys!" Alison shouted trying her best to get Alex and Mitchie's attention once the girls had arrived. She, Chase and Jaiden walked over to the girls and after giving each other a hug they headed to the opening of the farm.

"Hello, welcome to Brenner's Farm." The owner, named Meghan greeted.

"Here to pick pumpkin today?"

"Yeah, and to take a ride around the farm." Alison answered as Jaiden held on to his mothers hand.

"Okay so after you pick out your pumpkins just follow the little trail to the side of the patch and there should be a waiting area for the rides." Meghan instructed. After thanking Meghan the 4 parents and the babies headed into the pumpkin patch.

"Let's pick out a pumpkin sweetie." Alex said she held one of Ariana's hands while Mitchie held the other. Ariana looked around the patch, not quite sure what to do, while Alison and Chase walked close by and Jaiden looked at the collection of pumpkins.

"Ball, mommy." Jaiden said pointing to the patch.

"Yeah, balls. How about we pick one out." Alison told her son letting him continue to look around. Alex and Mitchie had found the smaller pumpkins and had about 4 lined up that Ariana could pick. The most priceless part though was watching Ariana trying to pick her pumpkin out. She would pick up one then give it a good look over before picking up one of the others, then doing the same with each pumpkin.

"Which one do you want baby?" Mitchie asked as she took pictures. Again, Ariana looked at the pumpkins and finally chose the 2nd pumpkin that was lined up.

"Okay now to find our pumpkins." Alex said as she picked up Ariana and placed her on her hip and she and Mitchie headed over to the larger pumpkins where Alison and Chase were already waiting for them.

"Sorry, Ari decided she needed to pick the prettiest little pumpkin in the patch." Alex laughed as she and Mitchie started to look for their pumpkins.

"Its okay, Jaiden was trying to take every pumpkin he saw so it took him a while to get his too." Alison told them. The girls and Chase began looking through the larger pumpkins and picking out their own pumpkins while the babies walked around close by.

"I like this one!" Mitchie said picking out a very large, oddly shaped pumpkin.

_Of course_ Alex thought.

_Leave it to Mitchie to pick the odd one out._

Like Mitchie, Alison picked out one of the odder pumpkins in the patch (claiming the oddballs needed love too) and Chase and Alex picked out the exact opposite, they were the cliché perfect pumpkins really. Before they headed towards the hayrides Mitchie insisted they get a group picture with their pumpkins. They lined them up according to the families (Alison, Chase and Jaiden in the front and Mitchie, Alex and Ariana in the back) and after the photo was taken they followed the trail over to the hayrides.

"Whewre we goin'?" Jaiden asked his father curiously.

"Were going on a hayride buddy." Chase answered as everyone loaded onto the back of the truck

"Honey you have to sit down so you don't fall." Alex said as Ariana tried to walk around. Alex held Ariana on her lap and the ride got started.

"Mommy! Cows!" Jaiden exclaimed as he pointed to the cows in the field.

"Yeah, cows. Look Jai there's some piggy's too." Alison said pointing them out to her son. Jaiden searched and finally saw the pigs and went just as crazy over them. While on the ride Ariana tried to walk around again but Jaiden stopped her.

"No Awi, sit down." Jaiden said taking Ariana's hand and trying to pull her back on the seat. Alex, Mitchie, Alison and Chase thought it was possibly the cutest thing ever. After failing to get Ariana back on her seat Jaiden stood up and took Ariana's hand and brought her back onto her seat. 

"Thank you Jaiden." Alex said as she placed Ariana back on the seat. Throughout the hayride Jaiden and Ariana played around the back of the truck while everyone else enjoyed the scenery around the farm. By the time the hayride was over it was about 2 o clock and both Ariana and Jaiden were ready for their naps.

"So tomorrow we'll meet up and carve the pumpkins?" Alex asked as she held a very tired Ariana in her arms.

"Sure, how does 4 sound, we could have dinner or something afterwards." Alison suggested.

"Sounds great. Bye guys." Alex said as she and Mitchie walked back to the car with Ariana. Before they even got home Alex went to get Ariana out of her car seat and already she was out cold.

"Babe, could you grab the diaper bag?" Alex asked as she took Ariana out of the car seat. While Alex brought Ariana inside Mitchie grabbed the diaper bag and after Ariana was put in her crib they brought the pumpkins in. The next day after Ariana had woken up from her nap they packed up everything and headed over to Alison and Chase's house to carve the pumpkins.

"So where we gunna make the mess?" Alex asked as she put the last of the 3 pumpkins she brought onto the table.

"Probably out pack on the picnic table. It'd be easiest." Chase answered as he grabbed the paper table cloth and lay it out on the picnic table. Carving the pumpkins was great…although there was one little problem. Even though Mitchie loved picking out her pumpkin, she hated the smell and texture of the inside. When she was little her and her sister went to the community haunted house one Halloween. She had just gotten her new costume (a beautiful fairy princess dress with wings and a wand) and was excited that she could show it off to all of her friends that were also going. Since she was the bravest of the group she was the first to head into the haunted house. At first it was simple, a few fake bats here, a skeleton or two there but at the end without warning people were throwing the innards from pumpkins at the victims that walked by and poor Mitchie was one of them. She screamed and wailed while her wonderful new costume got covered in pumpkin guts and she bolted right out of the haunted house. Ever since, Mitchie had hated taking the guts out of pumpkins.

"Ugh this smells disgusting." Mitchie grimaced, holding her breath as she scooped out her pumpkin.

"Do you want me to de-gut your pumpkin?" Alex asked as she finished Ariana's.

"Please, I don't think I can handle the smell anymore." Mitchie said taking a few steps away from the table. Alex laughed as she started to take all the insides out of Mitchie's pumpkin.

"Do you at least want to draw the face?" Alex asked as she took the last bit of insides out.

"Yeah, that I can handle." Mitchie said as she took the Sharpie from Alex and drew a goofy face on her pumpkin.

"There, a goofy face for a goofy pumpkin." Mitchie smiled.

"Not goofy, oddball." Alison corrected her friend.

"Sorry, oddball. But wait, how does that work? Can a face be an oddball?" Mitchie asked.

"Those are the questions that haunt me." Alison replied causing the group to laugh. Finally the pumpkins were done and once they were lined up in the same order as the day before they took a picture of the newly decorated pumpkins. That Monday night all four parents and the two babies were gathered in Mitchie and Alex's apartment getting the kids into their costumes. This year Ariana was going to be a ladybug and Jaiden was dressing up as Woody from Toy Story.

"Ariana Ryan Faith I need to get your wings on." Mitchie said as Ariana continued to walk around the living room in her ladybug dress. So far Ari had gotten her hair done into two small pony tails and had her antenna's in but didn't seem to want her wings on. Hearing the sternness in Mitchie's voice Ariana walked (more like waddled) over to Mitchie and finally her wings were put on her.

"There, now let's go show mommy so she can take a picture."

Mitchie picked up Ariana and headed into the kitchen where Alex was getting a drink.

"What do you think?" Mitchie asked as she let Ariana down on the ground.

"Awe, baby you look so cute!" Alex gushed as she instantly took out her camera and started taking pictures.

"Reach for the sky!" Alison exclaimed as she brought Jaiden into the kitchen fully in his Woody costume. He held up his toy guns and of course everyone gushed over the costume.

"Ali, he looks adorable." Alex told her friend as she continued to take pictures of the two babies. After about a twenty minute photo-op the two families made their way around to a few family and friends houses that wanted them to stop by so they could see the kids in their costumes and finally went to a few more houses before calling it a night.

**And that concludes the 3****rd**** chapter. Only ninety eight more to go! Please read and review =)**


	5. Chap 4

**Chapter 4- Chase Pops the Question**

"Alex, I need your help."

It was the middle of November, Alex, Mitchie, Chase and Alison were at Alison and Chases place and Alison and Mitchie were playing outside with the kids. Chase had been meaning to ask Alex for her help with something but he couldn't ask since Alison was always around, and this particular surprise required Alison not to be there.

"Sure, what with?" Alex asked as she took a sip from her glass of water.

"I need you to help me figure out how to propose to Ali." Chase answered. Instantly water went flying out of Alex's mouth and she started to cough.

"Come again." Alex asked once she had began breathing normally again.

"I wanna ask Alison to marry me." Chase repeated. **(For those wondering Alison and Chase are both 21)**

"But, I honestly have no idea how I should do it."

"Did you have any ideas on what you wanted to do?" Alex asked as she closed the patio door making sure Alison didn't hear a word.

"Well I had a few but that's the thing I'm not sure which one I wanted to do." Chase admitted.

"Okay. Well what are the ideas?" Alex asked.

"Well the first was taking her to this really nice restaurant in town and have the waiter put the ring in the dessert or the drink." Chase replied.

"I dunno, that one seems a little too movie-ish" Alex told him

"Then the other was write her a poem or song then recite or sing it then ask her." Chase continued

"Meh, she seems more of a romantic type, sure songs and poems are romantic but she'll want that extra romance and cheesy-ness." Alex answered.

"Then the last was take her to the beach and then go on a boat ride then ask her."

Alex didn't have to think twice.

"That's the one." Alex smiled. She knew Alison would find that so romantic and sweet.

"Now I have a question for you."

"Okay, shoot." Chase said.

"Can I see the ring?" Alex asked with pleading puppy dog eyes. Chase chuckled before heading to the bedroom and grabbing the ring box.

"Here, one quick peek before they get back inside." Chase told her as he quickly handed the box over to Alex. She opened the jewellery box and Alex fell in love with the ring instantly, it was a gorgeous medium diamond on top of a thin silver band.

"She's gunna love it." Alex confirmed handing the box back to Chase for him to hide. Just as she passed the box back to Chase, Alex heard the patio door open and started to panic thinking it was either Alison or Mitchie.

"Daddy, I want juice." Jaiden asked as Chase placed the box into his pocket and opened the fridge.

"What kinda juice do you want bud?" Chase asked once he knew the coast was clear. After he had opened the fridge door Jaiden saw the orange juice and tried to pick it up himself. He almost had it but the juice was a little too heavy and it collapsed on the floor, causing the entire juice container to burst open and fall on the floor. Both Alex and Chase let out a sound of surprise and poor Jaiden was startled by the loud sound the jug had made. Thinking he was in trouble Jaiden burst into tears and tried his best to apologize.

"Buddy its okay." Chase assured his son.

"Here I'll bring him back outside." Alex said while Chase cleaned up the last bit of spilled juice.

"It's okay Jai you're not in trouble." Alex assured him. Jaiden continued to sniffle until he was let down and as soon as he was close enough Alison saw the tears coming down her son's face.

"Honey what's wrong?" Alison asked as Jaiden ran to his mother.

"He tried to get the juice but it was too heavy and he dropped it and it went on the floor." Alex said.

"Awe, sweetie its okay. Just make sure you ask daddy or mommy to get it next time okay?" Alison said. Jaiden nodded as Alison wiped away the tears on his face and told him to go play with Ariana. The two kids played on the slide for a bit (Jaiden even offered to help Ariana slide down one time and said she could go with him if she was too scared to go alone) and soon the spilled juice had been completely forgotten.

* * *

About a week and a half later, Chase (along with Alex's help) had everything planned for the big proposal. To start off the night Chase and Alison were going out for dinner while Alex and Mitchie watched Jaiden. Then after dinner was done they were going to take a row boat ride and while in the boat Chase would find a way to direct Alison's attention elsewhere and while she was distracted he would pull out the ring. The plan was basically fool proof. The day before the proposal was going to happen Alex got a call from Alison

"Hey lex, do you mind watching Jaiden for a bit tomorrow night?" Alison asked.

"Sure. What's the big occasion?" Alex asked, very thankful her friend couldn't see the smile on her face.

"Chase is taking me out for dinner at around 6:30 and then he wants to take me on a boat ride." Alison replied.

"Oh, okay." Alex said accidentally letting her tone know she knew something.

"Russo, do you know something I don't?" Alison asked catching the change of tone in her friend's voice.

"What do you mean?" Alex asked nonchalantly.

"Alexandra Russo you know something about tomorrow night and I'd like to know what it is." Alison stated bluntly.

"Sorry Alison Ari just woke up from her nap gotta go bye." Alex said quickly hanging up.

"But it's 6 at night." Alison said to the dead line before hanging up. Now she knew for sure Alex knew something.

"That was close." Alex said through a sigh of relief.

"What was close?" Mitchie asked as she came into the living room.

"Okay swear you will not repeat what I'm about to tell you." Alex said. She knew Mitchie well enough to know that keeping secrets was not her forte.

"Okay I swear I will not repeat what you're about to tell me." Mitchie promised giving Alex a pinkie promise for effect.

"Chase is proposing to Ali tomorrow night." Alex told her.

"Oh my god!" Mitchie shrieked

"Yeah, when we were over at their place last week Chase asked me how he should propose and finally we planned it out." Alex said proudly.

"So what did you guys come up with?" Mitchie asked.

"Well first he's taking her out to dinner at Rosario's for a romantic dinner for two then he's taking her on a boat ride and proposing there." Alex answered.

"She's gunna love that!" Mitchie gushed. The next night at 6 Alison came over and dropped off Jaiden while Chase waited in the car.

"So you're 100 percent honest that you have no idea what's going on tonight?" Alison asked for the last time.

"Yes, I even super secret swear." Alex said slightly crossing her fingers so Alison couldn't see.

"Okay, well we should be back at around 9 so see you then." Alison said giving both Alex and Mitchie a hug.

"Jaiden be a good boy for Alex and Mitchie." Alison told her son as she gave him a hug and kiss.

"I will." He promised. Alison headed to the car and finally they were off.

"Jaiden wanna go paint with Ari?" Alex asked.

"Yeah I wanna dwaw a twuck!" Jaiden exclaimed as he headed over to the kitchen table where Ariana was happily sitting in her high chair painting and Mitchie was watching her so she could make sure there was little mess made. After Jaiden was set up with finger paints Alex started making dinner, simple Mac and Cheese, while Mitchie continued to watch the kids as they painted.

" Do you think Alison will figure out that you helped Chase plan everything?" Mitchie asked

"Oh yeah, she'll either get it out of Chase or just figure it out on her own." Alex laughed. Finally dinner was ready and thankfully there was little mess made between the two toddlers. They let Ariana and Jaiden play for a bit but at around 7:30 Alex gave Ariana a bath(which thankfully had been getting easier) and put her to bed.

"Awex, can you wead a stowy?" Jaiden asked.

"Sure what story do you wanna hear Jai?" Alex asked. Jaiden walked over to the book shelf and picked out Franklin Goes Camping.

"This one." Jaiden said handing Alex the book.

"Okay, Franklin goes camping." Alex began.

"You know, I used to read Franklin when I was little." Alex said as Jaiden sat on her lap

"Weally?" Jaiden asked.

"Yeah he was my favourite." Alex said. With that she opened the book and began to read.

_Franklin could count by twos and tie his shoes_

_He could zip zippers and button buttons_

_He even had a best friend named Bear…_

**With Alison and Chase**

So far the night was going by flawlessly. Dinner at Rosario's was amazing(which really wasn't a surprise) and now Chase and Alison were on their way to the boat ride.

"Babe, don't take this the wrong way because believe me I love having nights out by ourselves, but what's this all for?" Alison asked.

"You'll find out soon, don't worry." Chase assured her as he took Alison's hand in his. Alison gave Chase a curious look before relaxing in her seat until they arrived at the boat dock. The sun was just getting ready to set so Chase took the boat they had rented and began to push it into the water.

"Want some help?" Alison offered

"No, its okay, I got it." Chase assured her. Once the boat was a good distance in the water they both got in and Chase began to row.

"So will I find out soon the whole purpose of this outing?" Alison asked. Chase only smirked.

"Maybe." Chase replied as he continued to row the boat. Alison playfully glared at him and all Chase could do was chuckle. Finally they were a good distance off shore and Chase let the oars rest.

"So you really wanna know why I brought you all the way out here?" Chase asked. Alison impatiently nodded.

"Okay so the reason I brought you out here is…What the heck is that?" Chase stalled pointing to a random spot on shore. Alison turned around and looked on shore and while she was trying to figure out what Chase had seen he pulled the ring out from his pocket and when Alison had turned back around the ring was practically staring her right in the face.

"Alison Taylor Scott**(see what I did there? ;D) **you mean the world to me. You have since we met back in High School and you still do now. I couldn't imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else but you. Will you marry me?" Chase asked. Through the happy tears in her eyes and hands covering her mouth Alison nodded and through shaky hands Chase put on the ring and sealed everything with a kiss.

**Mitchie ,Alex, Ariana and Jaiden**

By 8:30 Jaiden had fallen asleep on the couch watching Barney so now Mitchie and Alex were laying on the other couch watching the newest episode of Grey's Anatomy. During one of the commercial breaks Alex's phone buzzed

**YOU SUPER SECRET SWORE! =P**

Was the text along with a picture of Alison's hand with the ring placed on her finger. Alex giggled and once she got back into the living room she showed Mitchie.

"Oh my god that ring is gorgeous!" Mitchie exclaimed. A few minutes later Chase and Alison pulled up and right away Mitchie and Alex went out to congratulate their friends.

"I thought you said you knew nothing?" Alison said giving Alex a playful glare.

"Well I kind of crossed my fingers when I super secret swore." Alex admitted. Alison picked up Jaiden from the couch and after Chase thanked Alex for her help with all the planning the newly engaged couple headed home.

**Okay so yes I did steal the proposal idea partially from the "Mine" Music video, it was a cute idea and I wanted to use it. Who's getting Tay's Album tomorrow? I'm so excited for it.**

**Read and review, even if this was a filler-ish chapter**


	6. Chap 5

**Chapter 5: Wedding Day**

The winter was nearly half over and so far there was still 3 months left till Chase and Alison's wedding. Once Alison and Chase had told their parents about the engagement they invited family and friends out for a celebration lunch where they asked Mitchie, Alex, and Ariana to be part of the wedding. Of course they accepted and now they were on a bridesmaid and Flower girl dress hunt.

Once everyone was completely ready the 4 girls(Chase and Jaiden had obviously opted out of dress shopping) headed off to the bridal shop just a few blocks away. Right away the manager of the store, Gianna, came to assist the girls. She asked what they were looking for and Alison wanted a rainbow theme, each of her bridesmaids were given a specific color (Alex was given blue and Mitchie was given Red. The rest of the bridesmaids were friends of Alison's from out of town so they were getting their own dresses in their designated color) and they would be going down the isle in the order of the rainbow. They began to look around the store and spotted a few dresses they liked but not ones that popped out like they wanted. Since Ariana was the flower girl and instead of her dress being one of the rainbow colors her dress was going to be plain white and the decoration on the basket would be rainbow colors instead.

"How about this one Lex?" Alison asked holding up a baby blue dress. Alex turned around and looked at the dress. The color was just what she was looking for, not too light, not too dark and the length was just below the knee.

"I love it!." Alex said adding the dress to the already large pile of dresses she had to try on. Since Mitchie had already found her dress a while back she was walking around with Ariana trying to find a flower girl dress.

"What do you think of this one Ari?" Mitchie asked pulling a dress off the rack. Ariana studied the dress before running her hands over it.

"Petty." Ariana commented.

"Here, let's go try it on." Mitchie said asking Gianna if they could go into the changing room after she had found the dress in Ariana's size. Once they were given a changing room, Mitchie quickly changed Ariana into the dress. The dress's skirt was slightly puffy and had a little white belt with a bow on the back of it.

"Guys what do you think of this?" Mitchie asked as she helped Ariana model the dress. Alex and Alison looked over at Ariana and you could instantly see them melt the second they saw her.

"petty." Ariana smiled causing the three girls to giggle.

"Yes sweetie you look very pretty." Alex told her.

"What do you think Ali?"

"I love it, and if Ari loves it I say lets get it." Alison said.

"Okay I'll go change her and I'll be right back." Mitchie said as she headed back to the change room with Ariana and changed her back into her normal clothes. By the time the shopping trip was done Alex had chosen the baby blue dress that she had loved and finally everyone had their dresses. For the next couple weeks Alex, Mitchie, Chase and Alison worked day in and day out to plan the wedding. There was going to be roughly 120 guests and the wedding was going to be at the Central Park Boat House (one of the top places to have a wedding in New York). Of course there were days where one of the girls(usually Alex because she and Alison were a bit closer than Alison and Mitchie) would have to calm Alison down because she was so stressed but by the time the big day had arrived on April 13th all the stress had been replaced with anticipation. The morning started off early with hair and make up. To make everything easier all the girls(including Alison's friends Abigail, Caitlyn, Grace, Tory , Katrina, and Emma who had flown in just for the wedding) had a huge group sleepover at Alison and Chases place while Chase and the boys stayed at Chase's parents house. All the girls were up at around 7:30 and right away were whisked into hair and make up. Ariana was the easiest to do since all she had done was her hair put into two ponytails along with her headpiece. The rest of the girls had their hair curled and put up in their desired style then they quickly got into their dresses.

"Everyone ready to go?" Alison asked all of her bride's maids before they headed off. Everyone gave their "yes" and they all headed into the rented limo and made their way to Central Park. The girls talked on their way to Central Park and reviewed the final details and finally they arrived. Thankfully the weather was working in their favour and so far it was a nice sunny day out. Everyone got in the specific order: Mitchie, Abigail, Katrina, Emma, Caitlyn, Alex, Grace, then Tory and finally the wedding began. The ring bearer (Jaiden, of course) and the flower girl (Ariana) went down first. Ariana stopped for a second and got distracted by all the people but Jaiden went back and grabbed her hand and walked the rest of the way down the isle. After the ring bearer and flower girl were finished, all the bridesmaids and groomsmen headed down arm in arm. Mitchie was the first, being (as Alison called her) "the lady in red, and soon after Abigail, Katrina, Emma, and Caitlyn followed. As soon as Mitchie saw Alex walking down the isle, looking more gorgeous than she had ever seen, it was as if the whole world stopped and all Mitchie could see was her. She was mesmerised by her. Right from her perfectly curled hair to her perfectly fitting dress. After the final two bridesmaids and groomsmen had made their way down the isle the bride came down the isle and everyone's eyes were on her, well except for Mitchie whose eyes were both on the bride and Alex.

"Dearly beloved, we are here today in the sight of god to witness these to people, united in holy matrimony." The priest began. While the speech was going on Ariana started to fuss so Alex had to move out of place for a quick second and pick her up before a huge fit began.

"I, Alison Taylor Scott **(see what I did there?)** take you, Chase Alexander Reid to be my husband, secure in the knowledge that you will be my constant friend, my faithful partner in life, and my one true love. On this special day, I give to you in the presence of God and all those in attendance my sacred promise to stay by your side as your wife in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, as well as through the good times and the bad. I promise to love you without reservation, comfort you in times of distress, encourage you to achieve all of your goals, laugh with you and cry with you, grow with you in mind and spirit, always be open and honest with you, and cherish you for as long as we both shall live. " Alison recited, holding back the tears that she knew wanted to fall.

"I, Chase Alexander Reid take you, Alison Taylor Scott, to be my wife, knowing in my heart that you will be my constant friend, my faithful partner in life, and my one true love. On this special and holy day, I give to you in the presence of God and all those in attendance my sacred promise to stay by your side as your faithful husband in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, as well as through the good times and the bad. I promise to love you without reservation, honor and respect you, provide for your needs as best I can, protect you from harm, comfort you in times of distress, grow with you in mind and spirit, always be open and honest with you, and cherish you for as long as we both shall live" Chase mimicked, grinning the entire time at his soon to be new wife.

"By the power invested in me I now pronounce you husband, and wife, you may kiss the bride." The priest announced and everyone clapped as Alison and Chase shared their first kiss as husband and wife. As they headed outside to the awaiting limo instead of pelting the newly married couple with rice they blew bubbles instead and as Alison held Jaiden's hand they made their way to the limo. A few hours later everyone headed off to the reception and everyone greeted the star couple with a thunderous applause. After everyone got settled it was time for speeches, since she was the matron of honor, Alex went first.

"Hey everyone. Well I met Alison and Chase a little over a year ago and I have to say they are two of the best friends I've ever had. I remember when Chase asked me to help him with an idea to propose I had never seen him so nervous. But thankfully he got it right and everything went fine." Everyone laughed a bit and Alex took a quick breather.

"So Ali, and Chase, congratulations. And thank you for letting me, Mitchie and Ari be apart of this amazing day. To Alison and Chase." Alex finished and everyone applauded. The rest of the speeches were read, particularly one from Alison's dad made everyone tear up as he talked about how his little girl was no longer his little girl, and finally it came to the couple's first dance. As their song for their first dance they chose "Smile" by Uncle Kracker, which Chase said was how Alison always made him feel. Everyone became quiet as Alison and Chase entered the dance floor

_**You're better then the best  
I'm lucky just to linger in your life  
Cooler then the flip side of my pillow**_

_**that's right  
Completely unaware  
Nothing can compare to where you send me  
Lets me know that it's ok yeah it's ok  
And the moments when my good times start to fade**_

You make me smile like the sun  
Fall out of bed  
Sing like a bird  
Dizzy in my head  
Spin like a record  
Crazy on a Sunday night  
You make me dance like a fool  
Forget how to breathe  
Shine like gold  
Buzz like a bee  
Just the thought of you can drive me wild  
Ohh you make me smile  


about halfway through the song other couples who wanted to were allowed to join in the dance and of course while Alison's brother watched Jaiden and Ariana Mitchie and Alex joined in.

_**Even when you're gone  
Somehow you come along  
Just like a flower poking through the sidewalk crack and just like that  
You steal away the rain and just like that**_

You make me smile like the sun  
Fall out of bed 

_**sing like bird  
Dizzy in my head**_

_**spin like a record  
Crazy on a Sunday night  
You make me dance like a fool  
Forget how to breathe  
Shine like gold  
buzz like a bee  
Just the thought of you can drive me wild  
Ohh you make me smile**_

Don't know how I lived without you  
Cuz everytime that I get around you  
I see the best of me inside your eyes  
You make me smile  
You make me dance like a fool  
Forget how to breathe  
Shine like gold  
buzz like a bee  
Just the thought of you can drive me wild

You make me smile like the sun  
Fall out of bed  
sing like bird  
Dizzy in my head  
spin like a record  
Crazy on a Sunday night  
You make me dance like a fool  
Forget how to breathe  
Shine like gold  
buzz like a bee  
Just the thought of you can drive me wild  
Ohh you make me smile  
Ohh you make me smile  
Ohh you make me smile

Every one applauded the couples and all of them left the dance floor. When it came to the bouquet toss a while later all the brides maids were lined up and ready to catch. Through giggles Alison threw the bouquet and instantly the bouquet landed in Alex hands.

"Guess we're next babe." Mitchie grinned as she gave Alex a quick peck.

"Hmm, Alexandra Russo-Torres, I like it." Alex smiled as she and Mitchie headed back to their seats, fingers intertwined even as they sat down.

**Sorry this chapter is late guys. We had a huge storm last night and didn't get power back until this morning. **

**READ AND REVIEW!**


	7. Chap 6

**Chapter 6: Turning Twenty and Terrible Two's**

"Lex, wake up." Mitchie said shaking her girlfriend a bit. It was about 7 in the morning on April 20th, Alex's golden twentieth birthday and since she and had school that day Mitchie got up early and made Alex breakfast in bed to celebrate before she left(Mitchie had the day off so she was staying home with Ariana). Alex's eyes opened slightly and saw her girlfriend and a tray of food on the dresser.

"Happy birthday babe." Mitchie smiled giving Alex a kiss.

"Up!" Ariana exclaimed holding up her hands. Alex giggled and picked up Ariana and let her crawl on the bed.

"Hey baby girl." Alex greeted giving Ariana a kiss on the forehead.

"Can't I just stay home in bed today? I mean it is my birthday after all." Alex said as Ariana cuddled into her mother's side.

"Nope, gotta go to school." Mitchie said giving Alex a quick peck before picking up Ariana.

"Come on baby, time to get ready. Lets let mommy eat her breakfast so she can get ready for school." Mitchie said bringing Ariana into the next room and getting out a light blue dress with a few flowers decorating it from the closet. Within record time Mitchie had gotten Ariana undressed, changed her diaper, dressed her and did her hair in two ponytails.

"There, nice and pretty and ready for the day." Mitchie smiled giving Ariana a kiss before letting her down from the change table. About 15 minutes later every one was ready to go. Since Mitchie needed to go out and grab Alex's present she dropped Alex off at the campus before heading out with Ariana to pick up the present.

"Hi, welcome to Peoples Jewellers, how many I help you?" the sales clerk asked.

"Hi I'm here to pick up a ring." Mitchie said adjusting Ariana on her hip.

"Sure, whose name is it under?"

"Mitchie Torres." Mitchie replied.

"Okay I'll be right back." The sales person smiled as she headed into the back room. Now, Mitchie had talked about Marriage quite a few times over the last little bit, and even though they had both decided they should wait until they were finished school to get married Mitchie still wanted to make it official. So as Alex's birthday present Mitchie had gone to Peoples Jewellers a couple weeks ago and picked out a Promise Ring that had two hearts connected and each heart had a small diamond in the center of it.

"Here it is." The lady said handing Mitchie the box. After paying for the ring Mitchie headed over to one of the small coffee shops, Sacava Coffee, with Ariana and got a pumpkin spice latte for her and a small apple juice for Ariana.

"Okay baby now what should we do?" Mitchie asked looking at the little girl.

"Jai!" Ariana said wanting to see Jaiden.

"Honey I don't think we can go see Jaiden today." Mitchie told her. Alison and Chase were still on their honeymoon and Jaiden was staying at Alison's parent's house till they got back.

"See Jai!" Ariana repeated.

"I'm sorry baby but we can't, maybe in a few days." Mitchie said as she put Ariana into her car seat. As they made their way home all Mitchie could concentrate on was an idea of how she would give the ring to Alex. She wanted it to still be sentimental but yet not over the top, over the top could wait until her actual proposal. Finally after tucking in Ariana once they had gotten home she started writing down some ideas and figured out what she was going to do. By the time 3:30 had hit and Alex walked through the door (She had gotten the cab home so Mitchie didn't have to wake up Ariana from her nap) Mitchie had just scribbled about the 10th idea she had gotten.

"Hey babe." Alex greeted throwing her keys on the counter.

"Hey, how was your day?" Mitchie asked tucking the piece of paper into her back pocket and giving Alex a hug and kiss.

"Long. I think by second class I was counting down till 3." Alex replied, putting her arms around Mitchie's neck.

"How about you, have fun relaxing at home?"

"Didn't do much relaxing actually. We were out most of the morning and part of the afternoon, apparently it's someone's birthday today and birthday's require presents." Mitchie smirked.

"I see. And what pray tell did you get them?" Alex said.

"Can't say. It'd ruin the surprise." Mitchie said smiling evilly.

" I promise not to tell them." Alex promised, adding in the puppy dog pout that she knew Mitchie couldn't resist.

"Sorry babe, not giving into the puppy dog pout today." Mitchie said giving Alex a kiss as she giggled.

"Meanie." Alex accused.

"You know today, I'll take that as a compliment." Mitchie said patting the spot beside her on the couch for Alex to sit down. For the next little bit the girls just relaxed until Ariana woke up from her nap.

"Mama!" the little girl cried from the next room. Alex got off the couch and headed into Ariana's room where she was standing up in her crib holding her stuffed bunny Peter.

"Morning baby girl." Alex said lifting Ariana from the crib.

"Have a good sleep?"

Alex brushed Ariana's hair a bit and replaced her messy pony tail with a neater one then brought her out into the living room to play with her toys.

"So what time are we heading out for dinner?" Alex asked as she placed Ariana down on the carpet with her toys.

"Seven. I phoned earlier and confirmed the reservation and your parents are expecting Ari at quarter to." Mitchie recited. At around 6 o clock Mitchie and Alex started getting ready to head out. In the midst of all the preparation chaos, little Ariana was walking around and thought Mitchie's jacket, which still had the ring in its pocket, would make a good toy. Grabbing onto the sleeve Ariana gave it a few good tugs before the jacket fell to the floor and Ariana fell over and landed on her butt. Hearing the jacket and Ariana fall Alex walked into the kitchen to see what had happened.

"Baby we can't play with momma's jacket." Alex said picking up the jacket. Just as Mitchie entered the room the ring box fell out of the pocket as Alex lifted the jacket off the ground. Mitchie's heart raced as soon as Alex noticed the navy blue box and picked it up.

"Mitch…" Alex said, totally at a loss for words.

"I was going to give it to you later but I guess it's been moved to now." Mitchie said taking the box from Alex shakily.

"Lex, I know you said you wanna wait until were both done school to get married, and I'm totally okay with that, but I still wanted it to be official even if were going to wait a while." Mitchie said opening the box revealing the ring.

"It's a promise ring. I know it's not an actual engagement ring but still it means the same thing. That I want to spend the rest of my life with you, with Ari, and I never, ever want to have to live without you."

With that, as Alex extended her shaky hand Mitchie placed the ring on Alex's finger and gave her a kiss.

"Now how's that for a birthday surprise?" Mitchie smirked causing Alex to giggle as she wiped the last few tears away.

"The best." Alex confirmed giving Mitchie another kiss.

"Uck." Ariana said which made both Mitchie and Alex laugh.

"Sweetie, just wait till you're older." Alex told her daughter.

**

* * *

****~*2 weeks later*~**

"No, no honey, don't play with the streamers." Alex said taking the streamer out of her daughter's hand. It was nearly 5:30 and so far Alex had had to replace (now) 5 streamers, blow up 8 extra balloons(and with every balloon popped Ariana cried from the noise) and had to change Ariana because she had made a huge mess when she was eating her snack. Needless to say the terrible two's that had only arrived earlier that morning had come in with full force. Since Mitchie was in the middle of decorating the cake Alex went into the bedroom and grabbed the pack of streamers and replaced the destroyed streamers with new ones.

"There, good as new." Alex said proudly as she placed the streamer roll on the counter.

"Ari come on lets go get dressed." Alex said holding out her hand for Ariana to take. Ariana took her mother's hand and they headed into the bedroom. Like last year the birthday party would be family and friends but this year they were only inviting a few people, Alison and her family, Mitchie and Alex's parents and siblings and that was about it. Alex hoisted Ariana onto the change table and started to undress her.

"Do you wanna wear your pretty dress?" Alex asked getting the light pink polka dot dress from out from the closet.

"Dess." Ariana repeated happily. After putting on the dress and braiding her hair into two pony tails Alex put her back on the ground to let her play.

"The cake looks amazing babe." Alex commented looking at the cake. Sticking with the theme of polka dots Mitchie had created a white cake with yellow, pink, purple and blue polka dots and had "Happy 2nd Birthday Ariana!" written on the top.

"Thanks. I just need to finish the last few details and it should be done." Mitchie told her. In the midst of her sentence Mitchie and Alex heard the sound of yet another streamer ripping. Alex let out a groan as she picked up the streamer role.

"Ariana, we can't keep ripping the streamers." Alex said picking up Ariana and bringing her towards her toys in the living room.

"Here, play with your toys while mommy fixes the streamers…again."

As much as Alex wanted it to be that wasn't the last time she would have to replace something before everyone had gotten to the party. Within the twenty minutes it took for everyone to arrive Ariana had ripped another streamer down, then popped yet another balloon and ripped off the polka dot bows from two of the chairs.

"Need any help honey?" Theresa offered her daughter noticing Alex and Mitchie had their hands full trying to get dinner finished and making sure Ariana didn't destroy anything else.

"No I think we're good. Ari doesn't seem to be trying to get at anything so it's a little easier to concentrate on dinner." Alex said.

"Well Max is pre occupying her so that's keeping her out of trouble." Theresa said as both she and Alex looked over into the living room where Max was playing dolls with Ariana to keep her busy.

"Good. Man the terrible two's are no joke." Alex commented as she flipped one of the pancakes she was making. For something a little different Alex and Mitchie decided to have breakfast for dinner: Pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage and hash browns.

"Well she seems pretty good compared to how you were. I remember just after you turned two and we went over to the Finkles you practically destroyed Harpers play room by yourself." Theresa said. **(Lets just say Alex and Harper knew each other since they were babies, okay?)**

"Hey, I was an energetic child and got bored of the same toy after like a minute." Alex said in her defence, remembering back when she was a toddler and would fight with Harper over one toy for a few seconds before moving on to a different one. Finally dinner was done and everyone sat down to eat. While Alex ate and played with Ariana Theresa and Jerry watched their daughter in amazement. Alex had changed so much since she had Ariana. Sure, they had their worries about how Alex was going to handle being a young mother but so far she seemed to be doing an amazing job, and Ariana was a good girl. Once dinner was done and cleaned up and presents had been opened to give some time for everyone to give their stomach's a break it was time for cake.

_Happy birthday to you _

_Happy Birthday to you_

_Happy birthday Ariana _

_Happy birthday to you_

Everyone clapped and cheered as Ariana tried to blow out her number 2 candle but couldn't quite get enough air to get the flame out. Alex lightly blew it and Ariana clapped as the candle went out. Mitchie took the cake away and cut a piece for everyone. By the time everyone had left it was nearing 8:30 and Ariana was putting up a struggle to stay awake.

"Come on baby, time for bed." Alex said as Ariana held up her arms so her mother could pick her up. By the time Alex had changed Ariana from her dress to her Disney princess pyjamas Ariana had fallen asleep in her mother's arms.

"Night honey. Love you." Alex said kissing Ariana on her forehead and leaving the bedroom to let her sleep.

**so there you lovely readers are, chapter 6. So I was wondering if I could get some feedback from y'all...should Jacob come back for a litle part in some point in the story? I have all the chapters planned out but i think i might be able to sqeeze him in somewhere if you think it'd make part of the story more interesting. **

**Read and Review =)**


	8. Chap 7

**Chapter 7: Alex's 7 Things to do With/For Your Girlfriend**

School had drawn to a close for both Mitchie and Alex and now they were finally able to just stay home with Ariana and enjoy the school free days of summer. It was around 8 in the morning and Alex had just gotten up and showered and while she ate breakfast she went on her laptop to check the ever addicting Facebook. As she signed in she noticed that her friend from school, Leila, had posted a new note titled: 101 Things to Do with Your Boyfriend/Girlfriend. Curious, she opened the note and started looking over the list. The list was actually quite cute, and as she read the list Alex got an idea. Going over the list a second time, Alex grabbed a piece of scrap paper and wrote down her top 7 and for the rest of the week she would pick one thing each day to do. About half an hour later Mitchie came groggily into the living room, wearing Alex's ACDC Concert shirt and a pair of shorts.

"Morning babe." Alex greeted as Mitchie slowly made her way over to her and sat on her lap while Alex gave her a good morning kiss.

"Morning." She said snuggling her head in the crook of Alex's neck.

"Still tired I'm guessing?" Alex giggled. She could feel Mitchie nod a yes against her shoulder.

"Do you know how long it took me to find your shirt and shorts this morning? Next time can you please throw within a foot distance? I don't wanna have to play find the clothes again." Mitchie said causing Alex to laugh.

"Says the person who started it by jumping me the second I came into bed last night." Alex fired back. Mitchie stuck out her tongue and soon Ariana was up.

"Here, you lay on the couch and I'll be right back." Alex said as Mitchie plopped down on the couch. She headed into Ariana's room and picked her up from the crib.

"Hey baby girl." Alex cooed as she picked the little girl up. After a quick breakfast and bath (which made Alex very happy she hadn't changed yet because she was now soaked from Ariana wanting to play in the water) Alex got Ariana dressed and ready. Grabbing the list of 7 things, Alex tucked the paper into her back pocket and smirked, this was going to be a fun week.

**Sunday, Day ****1. Watch the sunset together. **

"Okay baby, bed time." Alex said picking up Ariana and bringing her into her bedroom.

"No beh." Ariana protested.

"Sorry honey, time to go to sleep." Alex said placing Ariana in her crib. Instantly Ariana burst into tears not wanting to go to bed.

"Mama!" The 2 year old continued to screech as her mother closed the bedroom door. After about 20 minutes the screeching and crying didn't stop so Alex headed back into the room and grabbed Ariana who instantly stopped crying once her mother picked her back up.

"Honey you need to go to sleep soon." Alex said as she carried Ariana around, tears still streaming down her little face.

"No seep." The toddler repeated clinging to her mother. About an hour later Ariana had fallen asleep in Alex's arms and quickly and quietly Alex put Ariana back into the crib.

"Now hopefully she stays asleep." It was nearing 10 and Alex took a look out the window, just as she hoped, the sun was setting perfectly, the soft colors of near nightfall mixing into the summer sky. Without any words Alex laced her fingers with Mitchie and took her out on the balcony.

"Wanna watch the sunset?" Alex asked as they took a seat on one of the fold out lawn chairs they had. Nodding, Mitchie sat on Alex's lap and Alex wrapped her arms around Mitchie's waist. For the next hour the two girls sat in the lawn chair, fingers laced together as Mitchie cuddled into Alex comfortably, admiring the beautiful New York City summer sunset.

"You know, I've lived here since I was little and never took my time to admire the sunset." Alex said, rubbing her thumbs over the top of Mitchie's hands lightly.

"Really? How come?" Mitchie asked.

"I don't know, just never really thought to." Alex replied.

"But I'm glad I got to experience it with you first."

"So am I." Mitchie smiled giving Alex a kiss on the lips.

_First item on the list, complete _Alex thought.

**Monday, Day ****2. Roses.**

"Do we need anything else?" Alex asked looking over the shopping list.

" Nope, I think we got it all." Mitchie replied.

"Kay, see you in a bit." Alex said as she picked up Ariana and gave Mitchie a kiss before heading out. As she headed out, Alex pulled out her pen and added roses to the list. Since Mitchie was going to spend the day with her mom for some girl time, now was the perfect time to get Mitchie her roses.

"Here honey, wanna hold on to the list?" Alex said giving Ariana the list after she had placed her in the cart. Ariana played with the piece of paper as Alex made her way through the isles and grabbed the needed items. Along the way they came across the flower display.

"Now, which roses would momma like?" Alex asked Ariana picking up a red bouquet and a pink one.

"Dat" Ariana said pointing to the red ones.

"Red it is." Alex smiled putting the flowers with the other items. After getting the last few items, including a card to go along with the flowers, Alex went through the till and headed home. Thankfully when Alex and Ariana had gotten home, Mitchie was already gone with her mom so she set up the flowers on the table and signed the card before placing the card with the flowers.

"Babe, I'm home." Mitchie called out as she put her keys onto the table.

"Hey, I got something for you." Alex smiled gesturing to the roses on the table.

"Lex, you shouldn't have." Mitchie gushed picking up the card and reading it.

_Mitchie_

_How can I even describe  
What it is you do to me  
You've taken over my senses  
I've lost touch with reality  
I can't even think straight  
I simply lose all control  
You've got me hooked baby  
You're deep within my soul_

I can feel your sensuous touch  
Even when you're not here  
No matter what I'm doing  
I seem to feel you near

I can't stop thinking about you  
Wanting you to hold me tight  
Making wonderful love together  
Oh baby you do it so right

_Love, Alex_

"Alex, I love it." Mitchie smiled wrapping her arms around Alex's neck and giving her a kiss.

_Two down, five to go_

**Tuesday, Day ****3. Write poetry for her**

The clock had just hit 8:30 and already Alex had been up for an hour and a half working on day three: writing poems. Ariana was sitting on her lap, playing with her toy horse and Alex was sitting there with her pencil in her mouth trying to figure out how the poem would go. Finally, as if a light bulb had gone off in her head, she began to write.

_**M**__y angel_

_**I**____love you_

_**T**__oday, tomorrow and forever_

_**C**__uddling with you is like my personal_

_**H**__eaven_

_**I **__want you to know that you (and Ari) are_

_**E**__verything to me_

After re-writing the poem and folding it up, she put the paper by Mitchie's place on the table and waited for her to wake up.

"Morning babe." Mitchie greeted about half an hour later, walking over to the table and giving Alex a good morning kiss before starting up the coffee maker. As Mitchie sat down for her coffee she noticed the piece of paper lying by her spot.

"What's the paper Lex?" Mitchie asked curiously.

"Open it and find out." Alex replied mischievously. Eyeing her girlfriend suspiciously Mitchie opened the paper and saw her name written in large blue letters and the poem lines written in black pen. As she read the poem over Mitchie broke out in a huge grin.

"When did you write this?" she asked.

"This morning. I was up early and I just had it stuck in my head." Alex replied.

"I love it." Mitchie gushed.

"What's with you this week? You're being really lovey-dovey." Mitchie giggled.

"Just felt like being a mush ball." Alex smiled.

**Wednesday, Day ****4. Put love notes in their pockets when she isn't  
looking.**

_jean pocket_

_Mitchie_

_Love you forever and Always_

_Sexy Lexy ;)_

_2) jacket pocket_

_Mitchie,_

_A girl like you's impossible to find, you're impossible to find_

_Love_

_Lex_

_3)__ purse _

_Mitchie,_

_I love just who you are, I ain't gunna try and change ya, you are a shooting star that's why you are my favorite_

_Love____you_

_Alex_

While Mitchie took her shower Alex placed the notes in the specific places. Just as she placed the last note in Mitchie's purse, the shower turned off and Mitchie came out of the bedroom and as she was getting dressed she felt something in her back pocket. Reaching into her jeans pocket she noticed the first note and grinned. Alex could be such a mush ball some days. She put the note in her jewelry box along with the poem Alex had written her the day before and headed into the kitchen, where she was greeted with a plate of french toast, scrambled eggs and bacon.

"Babe, you shouldn't have." Mitchie said giving Alex a kiss. After enjoying their breakfast Mitchie was heading out to have some coffee with her cousin Andrea who was in town for a few days. After giving Alex and Ariana a kiss goodbye and heading to the car she reached for her keys where she found the second note. Mitchie could only giggle as she placed the note back into her pocket and drove off to the nearby Starbucks.

"Hey Andy" Mitchie smiled giving her cousin a hug.

"Hey cous, how's it going?" Andrea asked as the two girls ordered their coffee and they had a mock fight over who would pay.

"Here, I'll pay and you can't say no." Mitchie said reaching into her purse and Andrea stuck her tongue out at Mitchie. Reaching into her purse and thinking she had grabbed the ten dollar bill in her purse, Mitchie pulled out the piece of paper and knew exactly what it was. Reading the third note over, Mitchie playfully rolled her eyes and smiled as she put it back.

"What was that?" Andrea asked.

"Oh, nothing." Mitchie giggled.

**Thursday, Day ****5. I love the way a girl looks right after she's  
fallen asleep with her head in my lap**

"So, what movie should we watch?" Alex asked showing Mitchie "Mamma Mia!", "The Last Song" and "Prom Night".

" Prom Night. I'm feeling like a horror movie." Mitchie said taking the DVD and sticking it into the machine. The movie began to play and Mitchie cuddled into Alex.

"Scared the killer will come after you?" Alex teased.

"Don't worry if he does, I'll save you."

"My hero" Mitchie said snuggling into Alex a little more. By the time the killer had entered the prom Mitchie had ended up laying on the couch and laying her head on Alex's lap, Alex running her fingers through Mitchie's hair causing her to relax and fall asleep.

"Mitch, the movie's over babe." Alex said thinking Mitchie was still awake. Mitchie began to softly snore and Alex just grinned, Mitchie looked adorable when she was sleeping. Kissing her forehead Alex continued to run her fingers through Mitchie's hair for a bit before placing a blanket over Mitchie and heading to bed.

**Friday, Day ****6.****Learn to say sweet things in foreign languages.**

"Mitchie, hora de despertar" Alex whispered into Mitchie's ear the next morning. Mitchie stirred a bit before her eyes began to flutter open.

"Morning babe." Alex smiled

"When did I crash?" Mitchie asked causing Alex to giggle.

"Just before the 2nd person was killed." Alex replied.

"Come on, get your butt up, your coffee's getting cold." Alex told her.

"Mama!" Ariana called out happily holding out her hands for Mitchie to pick her up.

"Hey baby." Mitchie smiled picking up the little girl.

"So what should we do today?" Mitchie asked.

"Well how about we spend the day at the park." Alex suggested.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Mitchie said and after everyone was ready to go the three girls packed up Ariana's diaper bag and a few snacks and headed out to the park. They went to the nearest park which was about three blocks away and Alex started pushing Ariana on the swing, brought her on the slide, and played hide and seek around the park. Soon Ariana became tired and Alex realized it was almost time for Ariana's nap. She picked her up placed her in the stroller and they started walking home. By the time Alex had reached her house Ariana had fallen asleep in her stroller. She brought Ariana into her room and after she was tucked in she and Mitchie lay on the couch.

"Bésame" Alex smiled, pressing her lips to Mitchie's for a few seconds before breaking apart.

"You know, I find it very hot when you speak spanish." Mitchie stated causing Alex to giggle.

"Well I just find you hot in general." Alex retorted giving Mitchie another kiss.

Later that night as the girls were heading to bed Alex held out her arms and Mitchie climbed into bed and Alex took her in her arms.

"Night baby, I love you" Mitchie said.

"Te amo bebe, siempre y para siempre. Cada vez que te veo, me enamoro de nuevo" Alex whispered softly as she and Mitchie fell asleep

**Saturday, Day ****7. Never forget the kiss goodnight. And  
always remember to say, "Sweet dreams."**

"Lex, can I ask you something?" Mitchie asked as the two girls lay in bed in each other's arms.

"Sure babe, anything." Alex replied.

"How come you've been so lovey-dovey all week? Not that I don't love it, I do, Im just…curious." Mitchie asked.

"Because, you've always been the mush ball out of the two of us and I wanted my turn, and last Sunday I saw this list and thought that you'd like some of them." Alex replied.

"So that's why."

"Well I thought it was adorable." Mitchie said cuddling into Alex, more than ready to fall asleep.

"Night babe." Mitchie whispered.

"Love you."

"Sweet dreams Mitch." Alex said kissing her girlfriends temple and slowly falling asleep.

**So guys there's chapter I have an announcement. I know the chapter is late and there is a good reason for that, as of now I will be updating on Monday, Wednesday and Friday instead of Sunday! That way this story gets goin a lil faster =)**

**In case you need a translation here is what Alex was saying to Mitchie in Spanish.**

**1) Mitchie, wake up****.**

**2) I love you baby, always and forever.**

**3) ****kiss me.**

**4) ****I love you baby, always and forever. Every time I see you I'm in love again.**


	9. Chap 8

**Chapter 8: NICU Reunion and Summer's End**

_The staff of Leonix Hill Hospital_

_Invite you to attend the 22__nd__ annual Neonatal Intensive _

_Care Unit Reunion_

_Friday, August 31__st__ 2012_

_1:00pm- 4:00pm_

_Manhattan Fair Grounds_

_We hope to see all of you there!_

When Alex and Mitchie got the invitation to attend the reunion they knew they had to go. Although they did have to visit the hospital every few months for Ariana's follow ups and shots, they hadn't seen in a while so it seemed like a great opportunity to catch up with everyone, and afterwards Alison and Chase had invited them over for a summer end Barbeque. So to make sure they got there on time the girls woke up nice and early to get ready. 

"Ari, come on time for your bath." Alex said as Ariana tried to escape.

"No bath!" the little girl cried, hiding behind her toy box so Alex wouldn't find her.

"Ari, if we want to go you have to have your bath." Alex said sternly.

"No bath mama!" Ariana repeated, not even moving an inch from her hiding spot.

"Ariana Ryan Faith, if you don't come and have your bath right now, you'll be in time out." Alex said. Knowing her mother meant business, Ariana walked over to her mother and they headed into the bathroom. It had become routine that Alex stay in her pyjamas while she gave Ariana her bath, usually the little girl would splash around wildly, always getting her mother wet each time. After her bath was done Alex wrapped her up in her princess towel and brought her into her room.

"Wanna wear your new shirt sweetie?" Alex asked. Just for the occasion, Alex had a special shirt made for Ariana. It had her name printed on the front in pink, a crown resting on top of the first A, and on the back it read: Certified preemie, teeny weeny and super cute.

"Ya!" Ariana said excitedly as Alex put it on her.

"What it say?" she asked.

"A-R-I-A-N-A, it says Ariana." Alex said pointing to the individual letters as she read them out. Ariana looked at the letters on the shirt carefully.

"Says me?" Ariana asked causing her mother to giggle.

"Yep, it's your name." Alex smiled giving Ariana a kiss. Right away Ariana wanted to go show Mitchie her new shirt.

"Mommy!" Ariana cried as she walked into the kitchen, pointing to her new shirt proudly.

"I love your new shirt honey." Mitchie complimented.

"Says me." Ariana stated proudly.

"Honey, come here we still need to do your hair." Alex called out to her daughter. Heading into the room to her mother, Ariana sat down in front of Alex and got her hair done into two ponytails.

"There, all done." Alex said kissing the top of Ariana's head.

"Ready to go?" Alex asked.

"Up." Ariana said, not quite being able to say yes properly.

"Kay, lets go see if mommy's ready." Alex said picking up Ariana and heading into the kitchen.

"Kay, so everything's in the diaper bag?" Alex asked. When it came to getting ready to go out, Alex got Ariana ready, clothing and hair, and Mitchie was the packed the bags and got everything else ready. The system worked well and everything was always done with speed and efficiency.

"Yep, stuffy, soother, diapers, wipes, blanket, extra clothes. All here." Mitchie confirmed putting the bag over her shoulder. The three girls headed to Alex's car and after settling Ariana into her car seat the girls headed off. When they arrived at the fair grounds twenty minutes later the place was already buzzing with activity. They had face paints and game booths for every age and some food booths here and there. So far, it looked like a lot of people had turned out.

"So what should we do first?" Alex asked, holding Ariana's right hand while Mitchie held her left as they walked around and took a look at everything..

"Paint!" Ariana shrieked.

"Okay, face paint it is." Alex said as they looked around for about 5 minutes for the face paint booth.

"What would you like sweetie?" the nurse asked as Alex sat Ariana down.

"Fowa pease." Ariana answered.

"Okay, flower it is." The nurse smiled as she began the drawing. A few minutes later Ariana had a nice pink daisy on her left cheek.

"Now what do you say honey?" Alex asked as Ariana got off the chair.

"Tank ou." She smiled.

"Well your very welcome." The nurse said as they left and continued to walk around. After playing a couple rounds at the duck pond and having a quick bite to eat, the girls were walking around when they saw a familiar blonde walk their way.

"Dr. Robbins!" Alex exclaimed giving the woman a hug and soon after Mitchie did the same. After the hellos were exchanged, Dr. Robbins looked at the little girl between the older women and smiled.

"Hey Ariana, remember me?" Dr. Robbins asked.

"Honey, say hi to Dr. Robbins." Alex said.

"Hi." Ariana said shyly before hiding by her mother's leg.

"She's gotten so big." Dr. Robbins said.

"How old is she now? Two?"

"Yep, just turned two this year." Alex smiled.

"Show Dr. Robbins how old you are Ari." Alex said. Looking out from behind her mother's leg, Ariana held up 2 fingers.

"That's very good sweetie." Dr. Robbins complimented, causing the little girl to shyly smile.

"So how have you guys been?" Dr. Robbins asked.

"Great just enjoying the last bit of summer before school starts up again." Alex replied.

"That's good. So where are you guys studying at?"

"Well I'm going to The Fashion Institute of Technology and Mitchie's at the Institute of Culinary Education." Alex said. The girls continued to talk for the next few minutes at a nearby picnic table and while they talked Ariana happily munched on her goldfish crackers, offering one to her mothers every once in a while. For the rest of the afternoon the girls walked all over the fair grounds. Ariana got to play a few rounds at the duck pond and then they made their way over to the mini bean bag toss and a few of the other games. It was nearing three o'clock and Ariana was showing signs of needing her nap.

"Ready for your nap honey?" Alex asked picking her daughter up and letting her head rest on her shoulder. Alex knew ahead of time that Ariana would probably get tired halfway through the activities since she usually had her nap between 1 and 3.

"Seep." The little girl replied, digging her face further into her mothers shoulder. As soon as she was put in her car seat a few minutes later when they reached the parking lot, Ariana quickly dozed off by the time they had made it not even a quarter of the way home. By the time Ariana woke up at 6 from her nap and had gotten re dressed up( instead of her shirt and shorts, it was now a soft baby blue dress with gold sandals and re fixed ponytails) it was time to head out for Alison and Chase's summer end barbeque.

"Honey, you gotta wake up a bit more." Alex giggled as Ariana laid her head on her mothers shoulder comfortably while Alex carried her into Alison and Chases house.

"Hey guys." Alison greeted giving her friends a hug.

"Hey, need any help with anything?" Mitchie offered.

"Nope I think we got it all under control." Alison said as the girls followed her to the backyard.

"So how was the reunion?" Alison asked, all the girls taking a seat on the patio chairs while Chase flipped the burgers.

"Great, we got to see Dr. Robbins, Ariana got her face painted, played some games and it was pretty fun. If we can we'll probably go again whenever they have it." Alex said with Ariana still trying to wake up fully from her nap.

"Mommy, can I have juice?" Jaiden asked as he came from inside.

"Jai!" Ariana shrieked happily, now trying desperately to get out of her mothers grasp. Giggling, Alex let Ariana down and let her go to Jaiden.

"Jaiden how about you play with Ari on your new swing set?" Alison suggested as the two year old climbed off her mothers lap and Jaiden took Ariana's hand and led her over to the swing set he had just received for his birthday earlier that month.

"That's so adorable." Alison gushed as Jaiden helped Ariana onto the swing and began to push her lightly so she wouldn't fall.

" I know, I remember on Alex's birthday while you guys were gone I asked Ariana what she wanted to do and the first thing she said was see Jai!" Mitchie said instantly causing the other two girls to melt.

"That's too cute." Alex said taking her turn to gush.

"Dinner time guys." Chase announced bringing the burgers, hot dogs, buns and fixings to the patio table.

"Jai, Ari come on dinner." Alex called out to the kids. Once again, Jaiden took Ariana's hand and walked with her to the patio.

"Jaiden, do you want a hamburger or a hot dog?" Chase asked

"Hamburber" Jaiden answered making all the adults giggle.

"Hamburber it is." Chase chuckled handing Jaiden his hamburger and helping him put all the fixings on it.

"Can I have chep chup?" Jaiden asked. Again, Chase chuckled and grabbed the bottle of ketchup and put it on. Finally everyone was served and began to enjoy the meal.

"Chase, can I have your recipe please? These burgers are amazing." Mitchie complimented taking yet another bite of her burger.

"Nope, chefs never give away their secrets." Chase answered, Mitchie sticking her tongue out at his answer.

"Hey, it's the chef's code." Chase said simply causing Mitchie to laugh.

"Don't make me throw a napkin at you." Mitchie countered, noticing the triumphant smirk on Chase's face.

"Yeah, a lot of damage a napkin can do." Chase chuckled. Under the table Mitchie rolled up one of the napkins and while Chase was cleaning the grill she aimed it at his head, hitting him perfectly in the back of his head. The three girls burst out laughing as Chase turned around and glared at Mitchie.

"I win." Mitchie said taking a sip of her can of coke.

**There y'all go, Chapter 8! Hope you enjoyed it, even though its way shorter than usual lol =)**

**Read and Review!**


	10. Chap 9

**Chapter 9: Christmas at the Cabin. **

The first few months back at school went by like nothing and the old routine proved easy to get back into. The short fall days were gone and had been replaced by the even shorter days of winter. It was a few days before Christmas and currently Alex, Mitchie, Chase, Alison and the kids were staying at a cabin at Cedar Lake in Greenville for part the winter holidays. So far they had been at the cabin for 4 days and everyone seemed to be having a blast.

"Ari, Jai, wanna go outside and make a snowman?" Alex asked as she and Alison started putting on her winter jackets and gloves. They had just received a huge fall of snow over night and what better way to welcome it than to make a snowman and possibly some snow angels?

"Yeah!" the two children shouted as they made their way to the front door and the girls helped both of them get ready.

"Honey, wrong foot." Alex giggled as Ariana tried to put on her own snow boot but put it on the wrong side. Alex put the boot on the correct foot and then the four of them went outside.

"So how big are we gunna make this thing?" Alison asked as she started rolling a small ball for the beginning of the mid-section.

"Not too, too big but still a decent size." Alex replied, helping the two kids with the bottom part of the snowman. For the better part of the next half an hour, the two mothers and their children happily rolled snowballs and combined them into a nice sized snow man body and for the final touch they added small rocks for the eyes and mouth and a carrot for the nose.

"There, all done." Alex smiled.

"What do you guys think?"

"I love it." Alison said.

"Me too." Jaiden agreed.

"Pitty." Ariana finished. With the snowman completed and pictures taken, everyone headed inside where Mitchie and Chase were waiting with hot chocolate.

"How'd the snowman turn out?" Mitchie asked as everyone happily sipped on their hot chocolate.

"Great, wanna see?" Alex said turning on her camera and showing her the pictures she had taken. The best picture out of them all was one of Ariana and Jaiden as they were both rolling the bottom part of the snowman together. Later that night after dinner, Chase got the artificial tree and the girls grabbed the decorations they brought and started setting up the tree. While putting the decorations on the tree Jaiden put a decoration on and Ariana didn't seem to be very pleased with his placement of the ornament.

"No, go here." Ariana insisted taking the ornament and placing it in the place she wanted it. The parents held in their laugh as the little girl got mad at the older boy and moved the ornament. Finally the angel was placed on top of the tree and Chase plugged the tree in for everyone to admire.

"Mommy, will Santa know we're here and not home?" Jaiden asked, not wanting to miss out on Santa's visit.

"Don't worry, he'll know. Santa knows everything." Alison assured her son.

"Including when two little kids need to head to bed." She added, noticing it was nearly pushing 9.

"Come on you two, bed time."

"But I'm not tired." Jaiden insisted.

"Me too." Ariana added, yawning at the end of her sentence.

"Nope, come on guys, you have to go to bed, its getting late." Alex said picking up Ariana and bringing her to the room that Ariana and Jaiden were sharing. Luckily enough, there were three rooms in the cabin, one for the kids and one for each couple.

"Night guys." Alex and Alison said after kissing their kids goodnight.

* * *

After a week at the cabin Christmas eve was finally here. Snow was falling softly outside and everyone (especially Ariana and Jaiden) were getting excited for the morning to come. Ariana and Jaiden were playing in the living room while Christmas music filled the air and Alex, Mitchie, Chase, and Alison were sitting in the kitchen talking amongst them selves.

"Mama,Seepy." Ariana tiredly walked up to her mother as Alex lifted her up on to her lap.

"Okay sweetie. You wanna leave some cookies out for Santa first?" Alex asked and Ariana nodded her head slightly.

"Why don't you go get Jaiden and you can both help pick out some cookies?" Alex suggested as Ariana got a little more life in her and went into the living room to find Jaiden.

"Poor thing looks like a zombie." Mitchie stated causing everyone to laugh a little. Soon Ariana reappeared in the kitchen with Jaiden close in tow. Alex took the cookie jar down from the counter and both kids got to pick two cookies and place them on a plate and they both helped pour a glass of milk.

"Okay guys time for bed." Alex said as Ariana nestled her head into her mothers shoulder and Jaiden did the same with Chase. They took the kids into one of the bedrooms and placed them in the beds

"Where story?" Ariana asked. For 2 years old, she remembered well the tradition of reading "The Night Before Christmas" every year.

"Right here, don't worry." Alex said pulling the book off the dresser.

_T'was the night before Christmas_

_When all through the house_

_Not a creature was stirring_

_Not even a mouse_

_The stockings were hung by the chimney with care_

_In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there…_

Soon both Ariana and Jaiden had fallen asleep with ease and after kissing the kids goodnight, the two parents quietly made their way back downstairs. Alex, Mitchie, and Alison stayed up a little while longer after Chase had headed to bed before calling it a night. After cuddling into Mitchie Alex fell asleep for what only seemed like a few minutes(but was really 7 hours) before she heard commotion coming from the hallway

"Mama! Mommy! Presents!" Alex heard her daughter shriek excitedly. A few minutes later Ariana climbed on the bed and Alex couldn't help but giggle. While Ariana got up on the bed Alex could hear Jaiden in the next room waking up his parents as well.

"Santa came?" Alex asked her as Ariana climbed on her lap. Ariana nodded excitedly.

"Presents." She added. Alex saw Mitchie begin to wake up and her eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Morning sleepy head." Alex said giving Mitchie a kiss.

"Mommy presents!" Ariana repeated excitedly. Mitchie giggled and finally Alex and Mitchie made it downstairs.

"See!" Ariana exclaimed as she walked over to the tree, eyeing the presents happily.

"Yeah, but lets wait for Aunt Alison, Uncle Chase and Jaiden okay?" Mitchie said. A few seconds later Jaiden came down the stairs dragging his parents behind him.

"See! Santa knew where we were!" the little boy said excitedly.

"I told you, Santa knows everything." Alison said

"Merry Christmas guys." Alison said giving each of her friends a hug.

"Merry Christmas Ali." Alex and Mitchie said.

"So are we gunna have breakfast first or you wanna open stockings?" Alison asked.

"How about breakfast. That way halfway through no one's complaining of being hungry." Alex answered. Figuring out a quick breakfast, Mitchie and Alex made scrambled eggs, bacon and toast and right after everyone was done everyone was now sitting in the chairs by the tree; the two little kids were eyeing the presents eagerly.

"Okay stockings first." Mitchie announced as Ariana and Jaiden looked away from the presents and took their Stockings.

"Tank ou mommy." Ariana said

"Thanks aunt Mitchie." Jaiden followed. The kids tore through their stockings quickly, knowing that right after they would be allowed to open presents.

"Okay to Jaiden from Santa and to Ariana from Santa." Mitchie said passing the kids their presents. As soon as they got their presents both Jaiden and Ariana ripped them open in a flash. Chase had the camera running and everyone was thankful for it because the look on Ariana's face when she opened her new ballerina dress up kit and Jaiden opened his new Lego set was priceless. They wanted their parents to open it right away but they had to remind them there were more presents to open. Presents and bags were opened over the next hour and by the time everyone was finished the living room was a huge mess of bags and wrapping paper.

"Mommy, open?" Ariana asked Mitchie a little while later holding up her ballerina outfit.

"Just a second honey, I need to finish this first." Mitchie replied as she cut up the last bit of celery for the stuffing. Cleaning off her hands she took the box and got the tutu, slippers and tiara out of its packaging.

"Want help putting it on?" Mitchie asked.

"I do it." Ariana replied confidently as she walked into the living room. A few minutes later Ariana came in fully dressed in her new outfit.

"Mommy see!" Ariana said as she modeled her new clothing.

"Very cute honey." Mitchie smiled.

"Did you show mama?"

"Mama help." Ariana answered.

"Yeah, she was trying to get her tutu on and it wasn't working very well." Alex chuckled as she came in to the kitchen.

"Need any help babe?"

"Nope, every things finished. Turkey's ready to go in the oven, stuffing's made, veggies are ready to go. Got it all under control." Mitchie replied.

"Kay, me and Ali are taking the kids out to play if you need any help." Alex said giving Mitchie a kiss before she and Alison headed out with the kids. A few hours later when dinner was all done everyone was sitting around the table for Christmas dinner. Alex just loved the feeling of having all her friends and family together. That's what she had always loved about Christmas since she was little, the sense of togetherness the holidays brought. Even though it was just the 6 of them, the house was still tiny and with all the decorations and everything the house and now the table was completely full. The hours of waiting were worth it because the food Mitchie made was incredible.

"Mitch, this is amazing." Alex complimented as Mitchie smiled proudly. Complements came flying from Alison and Chase as well and Alex could tell Mitchie was soaking in every one of them. So far the vacation at the cabin was turning out to be an amazing trip. The kids had a blast in the snow, loved their new presents and a lot of amazing memories had come from the trip.

"Mommy, can we come here again next time?" Jaiden asked.

"Pease" Ariana added

"You know, we just might have to." Alison replied, looking at her husband and friends with a look of agreement. They definitely would have to do this again.

**Well there y'all go, chapter 9. Sorry it was rushed, I finished it at school about 2 hours ago but ff was being stupid but now its working **

**Read and Review =D**


	11. Chap 10

**Chapter 10: Ariana's 3****rd**** Birthday**

It was hard for Alex to believe that almost three years had passed since the most defining day of her young life. The next day, it would be a year that a 3 lb 13 oz baby girl changed Alexandra Russo's life completely. At the moment Alex had just finished reading Ariana her bedtime story.

"'Kay sweetie time for bed." Alex told her daughter. Ariana looked up at her mother and gave her the puppy dog pout.

"Stay up with you and mommy." The little girl whined.

"It's already past your bedtime honey; you've already had some extra time with me and mommy." Alex said.

"And you need lots of sleep because tomorrow were going to pick out your big girl bed."

"Okay." The little girl gave in as Alex lifted Ariana into her crib, hopefully for one of the last times. As her 3rd birthday present Alex and Mitchie were bringing Ariana to pick out her "big girl" bed, since she was close to out growing her crib

"Night honey." Alex said as she gave her daughter a kiss goodnight.

"Night mama." Ariana said before snuggling into her sheets and falling asleep. The next morning Alex's eye's fluttered open as she heard Ariana calling her. She started to get up but realized Mitchie's arms were around her waist. Alex slowly and carefully wriggled out of her girlfriend's arms and headed into the room beside them. When she opened the door Ariana was standing up in her crib smiling wide.

"Mama." Ariana smiled. Alex giggled and picked up Ariana from her crib.

"Hey baby, Happy birthday." Alex said as she kissed Ariana on the cheek.

"You want some breakfast?"

"I Hungry." Ariana replied

"Well how about we get you changed first and then we got get something to eat." Alex said as she opened Ariana's dresser and got her a new set of clothes. At the beginning of February, Alex had spent two weeks potty training Ariana. It had been a long task but eventually after a few accidents and rewarding Ariana with a mini M&M each time she had made it to the potty, Ariana was successfully potty trained. Once Ariana was changed into her red heart shirt and the matching denim skirt and got her hair done she walked into the kitchen and Alex went to take a quick shower.

"Hey birthday girl." Mitchie smiled as Ariana walked over to her.

"How old are you today?"

"Tree" Ariana answered holding up three fingers.

"Good job honey, you're a big girl now." Mitchie praised as she helped Ariana into her seat.

"I want toast please." Ariana said.

"Just toast?" Mitchie asked. The little girl nodded and Mitchie put two bread into the toaster.

"Juice?" Ariana asked.

"What do we say first?" Mitchie asked.

"Please." Ariana added with a smile. Mitchie smiled as she filled up a sippy cup with apple juice and handed it to Ariana.

"Tank you." Ariana said grabbing the cup and taking a drink.

"You're welcome, now what do you want on your toast?" Mitchie asked as the toast popped up.

"Jam please." Ariana replied. Mitchie lightly coated the toast in jam and after she had cut the toast up she gave it to Ariana. Just then Alex had gotten out of the shower.

"Hey." Alex said giving Mitchie a kiss.

"Hey, want some breakfast?" Mitchie asked.

"I was gunna make some pancakes but little miss wanted toast instead."

"Sure, I'm up for some pancakes." Alex replied, resting her head on her shoulder and wrapping her arms around Mitchie's waist. Mitchie smiled and kissed Alex's cheek before Alex let go and Mitchie got to work.

"How many do you want Lex?" Mitchie asked as she flipped one of the pancakes in the skillet

"Probably just two will be good." Alex replied. Mitchie handed her girlfriend two of the pancakes and put two pieces of bacon on her plate.

"Thank you." Alex smiled giving Mitchie a kiss.

"So what time are we heading out to the store?" Mitchie asked.

"Probably after breakfast, they said they can do same day delivery for the bed so the sooner we can get it the better." Alex replied.

"And we wanna get it done before the party tonight."

Nearly an hour later after breakfast was done and cleaned up the girls got ready to head out.

"Got everything?" Mitchie asked.

"Yep. Ariana lets get ready to go please." Alex asked as the 3 year old ran over to the front door and Alex helped her get her pink toddler converse on**(I saw a pair in the mall a couple weeks back, ADORABLE!)**. Once everyone was completely ready the 3 girls headed off to the furniture store 20 minutes away.

"Ready to get your big girl bed?" Alex asked. She knew Ariana had been looking forward from moving out of her crib to a bigger bed.

"Yeah!" the newly 3 year old replied excitedly. They made their way into the store and right away a sales person, Cloe, came and helped them out.

"Can I help you ladies with anything?" she asked.

"Were just looking for some toddler beds and things like that" Alex answered.

"I big girl now." Ariana added. The saleswoman smiled.

"Ok, well we have all toddler bedding and accessories over here" she said bringing them over to a huge corner of the store.

"Now are you looking for a certain theme?" she asked.

"Well she loves Dora and Disney Princesses, just anything really girly" Alex answered.

"Well the toddler beds and bedding are over here" Cloe said bringing them to the right side of where they were standing.

"And if you have any more questions feel free to ask" she said as she went to go help another person. As Alex and Mitchie looked around at the beds Ariana decided to check out the bedding and accessories.

"Mama, dots." Ariana observed pointing to a bed with green and pink polka dots.

"Yeah, you like the dots?" Alex asked. Ariana nodded.

"Dots pitty." She replied.

"Okay now let's find a bed and see if we can get the dots with it." Alex said as she brought Ariana over to the beds. Within the few beds Alex saw her daughters eyes widen.

"I like dat one." Ariana commented looking at a solid wood twin sized bed. The bed looked nice and Ariana seemed to really like it.

"Well how about we look around the store a bit more and if there isn't anything else we'll get this one okay?" Alex reasoned. This seemed to be okay with Ariana so they made their way around the store and found a few other good ones but nothing seemed to be taking Ariana away from the third bed she saw.

"So you wanna get that one?" Alex asked. Ariana nodded enthusiastically and that was that. They ordered the bed and sheets the owner said the bed would be delivered within 2 hours. As soon as they got back home Ariana went down for her nap and Alex and Mitchie started getting everything ready for the party. After the princess and polka dot themes in the past, this years party theme was going to be Dora the Explorer, since that was her absolute favourite show( next to Dora's cousin Diego). Like the last two years Ariana's party was going to be family and friends(they had made the decision that next year would be the year to start inviting friends from daycare and others) so it was just going to be a nice and quiet party. In the midst of decorating the bed was delivered and all the noise had woken Ariana up.

"Guess what just got here honey?" Alex said. She looked up at the clock and saw Ariana had only slept for maybe two hours so hopefully she'd be able to go through the party with minimal meltdowns.

"My bed?" Ariana asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"Yeah, and me and mommy are gunna put it together so you get to go night night in your new bed." Alex said as she fixed Ariana's hair and brought her into the kitchen.

"Dora!" Ariana exclaimed as she saw all the decorations around the apartment. They had kept the theme a secret knowing Ariana would love her Dora themed party.

"And Boots!" she added, pointing to the monkey on the table cloth. While Alex put on Dora for Ariana and Mitchie was at work putting up the rest of the decorations Alex started working on taking apart the crib and then assembling the bed. As she took the crib apart she was very thankful she had chosen a crib that was extremely easy to take down. With the crib set aside and out of the way Alex got the bed out of its box. Clearly the bed was making up for the easiness of the crib because it had so many parts to it Alex didn't know where to begin. After getting a steady work pace Alex had nearly finished the bed but now Ariana was wanting to get her toys but couldn't because her mother was busy in her room.

"Honey, just wait and for right now play with your toys in the living room." Alex said

"No, I want my teddy!." The little girl screeched.

"Ariana Ryan Faith Russo if you raise your voice you'll be in the time out corner." Alex warned. Very rarely did Ariana push it when it came to the time out threat but with that the toddler gave a screech again and right away Alex picked Ariana up and set her in the corner. The little girl cried for the next few minutes while she sat in the time out corner until Alex came and talked to her.

"Now, are you going to yell at mama again?" Alex asked. The little girl shook her head.

"Okay, you can come out now." Alex said as Ariana stood up and hugged her mother.

"Sorry mama." Ariana said.

"Thank you. But remember when mama or mommy's busy just listen okay?" Alex asked. Ariana nodded and headed to the living room to play with her toys. Finally half an hour before the party was to begin Alex put the sheets on the bed and called it done.

"Wanna come see your new bed honey?" Alex asked. Ariana ran into her room, dragging Mitchie away from the cake she was finishing and they both went and saw the new twin bed where the crib once was. Ariana thanked her mother and right away went to lay on it.

"Comfy." The little girl said as she giggled. There wasn't much time to enjoy the bed because right after Ariana was changed into her birthday outfit (a light purple dress and her hair brushed back into two low ponytails) and soon Alex and Mitchie's parents and siblings and Alison, Chase and Jaiden had arrived.

"Jaiden! I three now!" Ariana exclaimed as soon as she saw the little boy. For dinner Alex chose simple baked Mac and Cheese and Ariana had a blast opening her presents.

"Now who wants cake?" Alex asked as she lit the candles on the cake.

" I do!" Ariana exclaimed making everyone chuckle.

_Happy birthday to you_

_Happy birthday to you_

_Happy birthday dear Ari_

_Happy birthday to you_

Everyone clapped as Ariana blew out her three candles and Alex cut up the cake. The party turned out great, everyone stayed to chat for a few hours before heading home and by the time everyone left Ariana was fighting to stay awake.

"You ready to go to sleep honey?" Alex asked. Ariana nodded and Alex brought her to her bed.

"I sleep in my big girl bed tonight?" Ariana asked

"Yep, you get to sleep in your new bed." Alex confirmed.

"Cause I a big girl." Ariana smiled. Alex nodded and helped Ariana into her pyjamas. It was hard for her to believe. Her daughter was a "big girl" now. It wasn't long ago that Alex had to do everything for Ariana, now all Ariana wanted to do was do everything herself (well what she could anyway).

"Yep, you're my big girl." Alex smiled as she tucked Ariana in.

"Night big girl." Alex said as she kissed Ariana and let her sleep.

**So there's chap 10! Hopefully y'all enjoy it and can't wait to see you guys Wednesday with the new chap =D**

**Read and Review!**


	12. Chap 11

**Chapter 11: Dr. Torres**

"I feel like crap." Alex whined. July had begun to close and as of now Alex was laying in bed feeling totally ill. The original plan of the day was to go out and enjoy a day at the pool but with Alex sick it was out of the question

"Do you want anything babe? Tylenol? Advil? Cough Syrup?" Mitchie asked as she took the thermometer out of Alex's mouth.

"101.4. Sorry Lex, you're not going anywhere."

"Could I have some Tylenol please? And maybe some ginger ale?" Alex asked weakly. As Mitchie headed into the kitchen Ariana ran into her mother's room.

"I a nurse!" she said as she opened up her play nurse kit. Ariana pressed the plastic stethoscope against her mother's chest then put her hands on Alex's cheek and forehead. "Mama, you sick."

Alex smiled at her daughter. "I know, nurse. What should I do?"

"Take a nap." Ariana replied.

"I'm fine with that." Alex yawned, and then coughed.

"Hey Ari, what you doin?" Mitchie asked as she returned with flat ginger ale and two Tylenol. The 3 year old looked over and smiled.

"I mama's nurse." She said.

"Really?" Mitchie asked. Ariana nodded proudly.

"I make mama better!"

"Well how about we both help mama feel better?" Mitchie asked.

"Okay." Ariana agreed.

"Now let's let mama sleep." Mitchie said as she picked up Ariana from the bed and adjusted her on her hip.

"I'll be back to check on you in a bit." Mitchie finished as she turned off the bedroom light and let Alex sleep.

"How about me and you run to the store and get mama some chicken noodle soup." Mitchie said as she helped Ariana get her sandals on and they headed over to the store to grab a couple cans of soup and more ginger ale.

"Ari wait for mommy." Mitchie said as the three year old tried to bolt for the store once they had arrived. Ariana turned around and tried to stop but lost her footing and ended up falling on the ground, instantly breaking into sobs.

"Honey you okay?" Mitchie asked, picking her up as Ariana continued to cry.

"Owie on my leg!" the toddler screeched as tears pooled down her face. Mitchie took a look at the toddler's leg and saw there was a good scrape with a little blood covering it.

"Here let's get some wipes from the car." Mitchie said bringing Ariana over to the car and seating her on the back seat while she pulled out the emergency first aid kit. The little girl continued to sniffle as Mitchie cleaned up the scrape and put a band aid over it.

"There. That better?" Mitchie asked soothingly. Ariana nodded as she held out her arms for Mitchie to carry her. Ariana clung to Mitchie's neck until she was put into the seat in the shopping cart. Manoeuvring through the isles Mitchie grabbed a few cans of soup and a 2L of ginger ale and made her way home so Alex wasn't alone for long. When the girls got home Mitchie opened the door and saw Alex in the Kitchen getting something to drink.

"Hey, how are you?" Mitchie asked as she put the shopping bag onto the counter.

"Better. Not by much but im better." Alex answered.

"Well then get your butt back into bed. I don't want you to get worse." Mitchie said as she brought Alex back to her room.

"Yeah mama, bed!" Ariana agreed pushing lightly on her mother's leg. Alex giggled as she climbed back into bed and Ariana helped Mitchie pull the sheets back on her.

"We'll be back with your soup when it's done." Mitchie said as she kissed Alex on her forehead and headed into the kitchen while Ariana pulled out her nurse kit again.

"Mama needs lotsa soup! Make her feel better." Ariana said as Mitchie stirred the soup into the pot.

"Okay, nurse Ari. Want to help me get stuff out for the soup?" Mitchie asked. Ariana nodded.

" Then let's get out a bowl and spoon." Mitchie instructed as she lifted Ariana high enough to grab a bowl and opened the drawer to get a spoon.

"Okay, let's fill mama's cup with some ginger ale." Mitchie continued. She let Ariana twist off the cap of the pop bottle then once the drink was poured Ariana got to stir it until it was flattened. The soup was finished and after Mitchie filled the bowl up with soup she carried everything to Alex on a tray and Ariana followed closely.

"Mama we made soup!" Ariana exclaimed as Mitchie put down the tray on the night stand.

"I see that, thank you." Alex smiled weakly as she grabbed the glass of ginger ale and took a quick sip before eating her soup.

"Need anything else babe?" Mitchie asked.

" No, I'm good." Alex said as she hungrily ate the soup. For the rest of the day Mitchie was on her feet either bringing Alex more food, drinks or medication(and once or twice she had to hold Alex's hair back as she threw up) and making sure Ariana was entertained, fed and taken care of. But the horror had only just begun. It was about 5 the next morning when a voice tore through the apartment. 

"Mommy!" Ariana cried. Mitchie's eyes slowly opened as she heard her daughter crying in her room. She got off the couch (Alex didn't want her in bed so she wouldn't get sick, although neither girl really wanted to sleep apart) and headed into Ariana's room to see why she was crying. When she turned on the bedroom light it was horrific. Ariana was sitting up in her bed; puke covered the front of her nightgown and bed as she continued to cry.

"Oh no, not you too." Mitchie said as she took Ariana's night gown off and brought her into the bathroom, turning on the faucets for the bathtub so she could wash her off.

"I no feel good!" the toddler cried as she clung to her mother for comfort. Mitchie knew Ariana was covered with puke even without her nightgown on but that didn't matter to her, she and her clothes were washable.

"Shh, I know baby, I know." Mitchie soothed as she held Ariana while she cried, rubbing her back soothingly hoping to calm her down.

"Don't worry, after you get cleaned up I'll give you something to make you feel better okay?" Mitchie said as she turned off the taps and put Ariana in the tub. The little girl continued to sniffle as Mitchie washed her and quickly threw her into a new pair of Pyjamas after taking off the dirty bed sheets.

"Do you wanna watch Barney honey?" Mitchie asked as she wrapped Ariana comfortably in a blanket on the couch. With her head sunk into the pillow Ariana nodded slightly and Mitchie turned on the TV and put in one of Ariana's DVDs. While the advertisements were playing Mitchie quickly took Ariana's temperature: 101.5. After giving Ariana some Tylenol she let her relax and soon Alex was up.

"Hey how you feeling?" Mitchie asked as she felt Alex's forehead and cheeks.

"Still gross. How's everything going?"

"Well, Ariana woke up at 5 this morning and had thrown up so now she's sick too. I gave her a bath right away and right now she's lying on the couch since her sheets are covered with puke." Mitchie replied.

"Oh god. Do you need any help?" Alex asked. She hated leaving Mitchie to take care of everything.

"No its okay, you rest I have it all under control." Mitchie assured her. As if on cue, Mitchie and Alex heard Ariana throw up in the next room and start crying.

"I'll be right back." Mitchie said as she rushed to the living room. As she went to assess the damage, Ariana had thankfully thrown up on the ground.

"Thank goodness this apartment isn't carpeted." Mitchie commented as she started to clean up.

"Sorry mommy." The little girl whimpered.

"No sweetie it's okay. Mommy can clean it up." Mitchie assured her giving Ariana a kiss on the forehead.

"Do you want some juice?"

"Please." The little girl replied. After making sure everything was cleaned up Mitchie handed Ariana a sippy cup of Apple Juice and let her rest on the couch again. Mitchie headed into her bedroom to check on Alex but it had seemed that she had fallen asleep again. While both Alex and Ariana were asleep Mitchie took the opportunity to bring Ariana's sheets downstairs to the laundry room to make sure that they'd be ready for that night when she had to go to bed. When Mitchie returned to the apartment Alex was awake.

"Do you want something to eat?" Mitchie asked.

"Sure. Could I have scrambled eggs?" Alex replied.

"Coming right up." Mitchie said as she headed to the kitchen to make Alex's breakfast. In the midst of cooking, Alex came into the kitchen to help out.

"Hey, back to bed missy. You're just starting to get better you need to rest." Mitchie said guiding Alex back to the bed.

"But I feel bad sitting back while you do everything." Alex whined as Mitchie tucked her in.

"Lex, don't worry, I can handle it." Mitchie assured her. Alex let out a huff but Mitchie just told her to stay in bed and once the eggs were done Mitchie brought Alex her breakfast along with some tea.

"Hey honey, how you feeling?" Mitchie asked as Ariana woke up, running her hands through Ariana's hair comfortingly.

"Icky." The little girl whimpered.

"Do you want some crackers? Maybe you'll feel a bit better if you eat something." Mitchie asked. The little girl nodded and Mitchie pulled out the pack of soda crackers from the cupboard. Ariana had about 5 crackers and seemed to be doing fine but after about half an hour Ariana had thrown up the crackers she had eaten, thankfully in the bucket Mitchie had set aside for her. Mitchie quickly cleaned up and gave Ariana another dose of Tylenol before letting her go back to sleep. As the toddler fell asleep Mitchie checked the clock: 1:34pm.

"Mitch, could I have some Tylenol please?" Alex called from the bedroom. Mitchie opened the pill bottle and brought 2 of the pills to her girlfriend along with a glass of water.

"Anything else?" Mitchie asked.

"No, I'm good. How's Ari?"

"Sleeping right now. I gave her some crackers earlier but she ended up getting sick afterwards." Mitchie reported.

"Now, I'll be right back, I need to go down and put the sheets into the dryer." Mitchie said giving Alex a kiss on her forehead before heading back downstairs to switch the laundry. A while later, as Mitchie sat down for the first time that day, the phone rang causing Ariana to wake up.

"Hello?" Mitchie answered as she took out the thermometer to check Ariana's temperature.

"Hey, how's your patient?" Alison asked. She had been the one who suggested the pool outing the day before and Mitchie had to phone and cancel just hours before they were due to leave.

"Well now its patients. Ari's sick now too. I've been up since 5 when Ariana woke up crying cause she felt gross." Mitchie replied.

"Awe. Do you need any help over there? I'm sure Chase wouldn't mind if I left him and Jaiden alone for a few hours." Alison offered.

"No, its okay. Alex is asleep right now and I'm just checking Ariana's temperature." Mitchie replied.

"Kay, well if you need any help just give me a call." Alison said. With that the girls hung up and Mitchie took the thermometer out of Ariana's mouth.

"100.2. Better." Mitchie said as she cleaned off the thermometer and filled up Ariana's cup with water.

"Mommy, Can I watch Nemo?" Ariana asked.

"Sure you can watch Nemo." Mitchie replied as she put Finding Nemo into the DVD player.

"So how's my other patient?" Mitchie asked as she went into her bedroom to check on Alex.

"Better." Alex replied before her face fell and she ran to the bathroom. Mitchie held her girlfriends hair back as she emptied her stomach into the toilet.

"Being sick sucks." Alex complained as she rinsed her mouth out.

"Don't worry, Dr. Torres is here." Mitchie said as she rubbed her girlfriends back soothingly.

"Callie? Where?" Alex asked jokingly. She and Mitchie watched Grey's Anatomy every week and Alex always said Mitchie was her favourite Torres even though she had a mad crush on Callie.

"Ha ha very funny." Mitchie replied.

"You know I was kidding. You're way hotter than Sara Ramirez any day." Alex said.

"That's the fever talking babe." Mitchie said as she brought Alex back to bed.

"Thanks for taking care of me and Ari Mitch." Alex said as she snuggled into the comforter.

"No problem. Now get some sleep. The more sleep you get the faster you'll get better." Mitchie said as she brushed Alex's bangs out of her face. The words fell on deaf ears because as soon as Alex's head had hit the pillow she was out cold.

"Night babe." Mitchie said kissing her girlfriends temple before going to check on Ariana in the next room.

**Hey guys! Sorry this is a lil late in the day. My stupid internet was down(stupidly enough just on our street) so I had to wait for it to come back on to update. Hope y'all enjoyed this chap and see ya Friday =D**

**Read and Review!**


	13. Chap 12

**Chapter 12: A Day at Daycare, Coming Back to College **

"Ari, come on we have to go." Alex said as Ariana continued to play with her toys. It was September 9th and everyone was heading back to either school or daycare. Summer had been fun, Mitchie and Alex had taken Ariana to the pool quite a few times and they even took a trip over to Texas for the last two weeks of August, but now it was time to head back into the old routine. Mitchie had already left a few minutes before and so Alex was waiting on Ariana who had yet to get her shoes and jacket on.

"Ariana, we have to go or mama's gunna be late." Alex repeated finally getting her daughters attention as she usually did when she used her full first name.

"Can I bring Peter?" Ariana asked as she stood up from her toys and held her favorite toy bunny tight.

"Yes you can but let's hurry; mama has to be at school in a few minutes." Alex said handing Ariana her shoes and jacket. Hoping to pick up the pace Alex tried helping Ariana get her stuff on but the toddler just looked at her mother.

"I do it." She declared as she put on the last Velcro strap on her shoe. After grabbing their bags the two Russo girls headed out and Alex dropped off Ariana at Little Steps.

"Morning Karah." Alex greeted as she and Ariana walked in the door.

"Morning Alex. Welcome back Ari." Karah replied as Alex helped get Ariana's jacket off.

"I'll see you later sweetie. Be a good girl okay?" Alex said giving Ariana a kiss and headed out the door as Ariana ran into the other room to play with her friends.

"Ari!" one of the little girls shrieked happily as she ran over to Ariana.

"Chelsie!" Ariana shrieked just as loud. The two girls hugged and began to play with the dolls in the house center and soon the room was filled with all the other kids.

"Okay everyone, story time!" one of the workers, Jennifer, called out. All the kids gathered around and sat on their designated spot on the mat.

"Wow, you guys are really fast. Good job! Now I want you all to meet someone new." Jennifer began as the little girl beside her stepped forward.

"This is Everlie; she's new here and hasn't really made any friends yet."

"I be her friend." Ariana piped up.

"Thank you Ariana. Everlie you can take a seat by Ariana." Jennifer said pointing to the empty spot by Ariana

"Hi." Ariana smiled at the little girl.

"Hi." Everlie replied shyly.

"Now today, were going to read a story called 'The Tale of Peter Rabbit'." Jennifer said. Ariana's eyes grew wide.

"My bunny's name's Peter!" Ariana shrieked.

"Can I get him?"

"Yes you may." Jennifer replied as Ariana rushed to her bag to grab Peter. Holding her stuffed bunny tight, Ariana sat back down by Everlie and Chelsie and Jennifer read the story.

_Once upon a time there were four little rabbits, and their names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton Tail, and Peter. They lived with their mother in a sand-bank, underneath the root of a very big fur tree…_

The children listened carefully to the story of the little rabbit that mistakenly went into Mr. McGregor's garden even though he was told not to by his mother and ended up getting into more trouble than he had bargained for.

"My Peter's a good bunny. He listen to me." Ariana said at the end of the story as she pet her stuffed bunny. Jennifer laughed and all the kids scattered into the different centers. Ariana's favorite center by far was the house center. She loved playing with all the baby dolls and making meals with the play food for her dolls.

"You be the mommy and I be the mama." Ariana said to Everlie as she pulled one of the babies from the crib and cradled it in her arms.

"He crying."

"He needs a bottle." Everlie stated as she opened the little play fridge and grabbed one of the bottles and handed it to Ariana.

"Dere, all better." Ariana said after she had held the bottle to the dolls mouth for a few seconds.

"Guys, recess." Jennifer called out. All the kids ran outside to play on the playground, eager to play on the swings, slides and jungle gym.

"I king of the castle!" one boy, Grant, called out as he started climbing the jungle gym.

"No I king!" Ariana said as she raced Grant to the top of the jungle gym. Grant was near the finishing point when Ariana found a quicker way to the finish line. Just as Grant was making his way to the top Ariana had already got there.

"I the king! I the king!" Ariana chanted happily.

"No fair!" Grant exclaimed.

"I the king, not you."

"No, I king of the castle." Ariana stated

"I won."

Grant huffed as slid down the slide and Ariana smiled happily. A few minutes later Jennifer brought the kids back inside and it was time for arts and crafts.

"So when I call you up, everyone is going to be able to choose a clay project to paint. I'll call you up by your tables." Jennifer said. All the kids were excited for their tables to be called so they could start.

"Okay can Charlie's table please come up and chose their projects." Jennifer called. Charlie led the line and she chose her project first, followed by the other three children at her table.

"Now, Ariana's table can come up." Ariana raced over to the front and looked over the possible projects. There were all sorts of animals, shapes, bowls, cups, and everything else.

"I want the turtle." Ariana said picking up the small turtle and taking her seat. After the next few tables went the paints were handed out and everyone got to work. Ariana took her paint brush and dipped it in the blue paint first and coloured all over the turtle, then adding yellow, green, pink, orange and red.

"Wow Ari, that looks amazing." Jennifer complimented. Ariana smiled brightly.

"It's for mama."

"Mama's gunna love it." Jennifer said as she continued to walk around the room and check on the other kids.

* * *

The first day back at college was a long one to say the least. After getting her schedule and books Alex had to navigate her way to her new classes (most of which were in parts of the campus she had never been to in years previous) and make sure she was there on time. But as hard as learning her new schedule was, having her friends in most of her classes made up for it.

"Oh my god, Dana!" Alex squealed as she wrapped her arms around her friend.

"Lex! How are you?" Dana asked as the two girls sat down.

"Great, trying to get my head wrapped around my new schedule but other than that I'm great." Alex smiled.

"That's good. How's your baby girl?" Dana asked.

"She's great. She's at day care right now." Alex replied. Out of all her school friends, Dana was the first one Alex told about Mitchie and Ariana. At first Alex was scared to tell people about Ariana, mostly out of fear of criticism, but Dana had accepted everything.

"Why judge people over mistakes? Everyone makes mistakes." She had said. Alex knew right then that she and Dana would become best friends. The girls talked for a few more minutes until the professor came in and started talking about what they'd be covering over the semester. The rest of the day went pretty much the same way: find a class, listen to the teacher talk about the goals of the course, then onto the next class. When the 3 o clock bell went to signify the first day was over Alex made her way over to the day care.

"Hey Alex, Ariana and the other kids are just in the back with Jennifer, they should be back in about 5 minutes." Karah informed Alex as she entered the building.

"Okay I'll wait." Alex said as she walked over to the window. She looked outside and saw Ariana happily playing with a little girl her age with curly blonde hair and another girl with straight brown hair(who she knew was Chelsie) over by the slide.

"Okay everyone time to head in. Ariana, Everlie, Chelsie lets go." Jennifer called out. The girls ran over to Jennifer and the other kids and headed inside. As soon as Ariana saw Alex a huge smile grew on her face.

"Mama!" Ariana shouted as she ran over to Alex. Alex picked her up and gave her a kiss.

"Hey you have fun today?" Alex asked, Ariana nodded happily.

"Now let's head home okay." Alex said as she got Ariana's bag and headed out

"Bye Karah, bye Jen!" Ariana called out.

"Bye Ariana, see you tomorrow." Jen called back.

On the drive home Ariana talked endlessly about her day at daycare as she usually did and Alex couldn't help but smile at her daughter's excitement. Ariana talked about Everlie and how she said she would be her friend right away, and all about their clay projects that she couldn't wait to get back. When they got into the parking lot Alex tried to help Ariana out of her car seat.

"I do it" Ariana said being the very determined 3 year old she was.

Alex knew it wouldn't be long until she asked for help so she waited by the door of the car.

"Mama help" Ariana finally said after about a minute of struggling with her seatbelt.

Alex laughed a little then got Ariana's seatbelt un done. As fast as she could Ariana climbed out of the car and darted for the door.

"Ariana wait for mama please." Alex said as her daughter tried to open the door to the apartment building. Ariana stood by the door patiently and once Alex had opened the door Ariana walked with her mother until they reached their apartment. The girls got in the door and Mitchie was lying on the couch sleeping(her classes didn't run as long as Alex's did on the first day so she had been home since 2). Alex giggled and she helped take Ariana's shoes and Jacket off.

"Go wake up mommy Ari" Alex told her daughter. By the smile on her face Alex could tell she was more than happy to. She ran to the couch and Alex could tell Mitchie was only faking that she was asleep.

"Mommy up" Ariana said. She stayed still for a few seconds before she picked Ariana up and started swinging her around. She squealed and giggled as Mitchie kept spinning her around.

"Hey what about me" Alex joked once Mitchie had put Ariana back down. With a mischievous grin Mitchie went over and picked Alex up by the waist and started spinning her too. Ariana giggled as Mitchie spun Alex around.

"Mommy silly" Ariana said giggling after Mitchie had put Alex down.

"Yes she is very silly" Alex said as she gave Mitchie a kiss.

"So how was your first day back?" Mitchie asked.

"It was good, long, but good." Alex replied.

"How about you? How was your first day back?"

"Great, missed you though." Mitchie said as she gave Alex a kiss.

"What 'bout me?" Ariana asked.

"You miss me?"

"I especially missed you little girl." Mitchie said as she picked up Ariana again and spun her around causing the girl to shriek happily.

"Now, what should we make for dinner?" Mitchie asked as she rested Ariana on her hip.

"Pizza!" Ariana replied.

"Pizza sound good to you Lex?" Mitchie asked. With a nod from Alex Mitchie started gathering the toppings, sauce, seasonings and cheese while Alex worked on the dough.

"Can Peter have pizza too?" Ariana asked taking the stuffed bunny from her backpack.

"If Peter likes pizza then I don't see why not." Mitchie replied as she finished cutting up some peppers. The toddler smiled and while Alex put the pizzas together Mitchie played with Ariana in the living room.

"Oh no, it's Petezilla!" Mitchie cried as she used Peter to attack the block city she had helped Ariana make out of Lego.

"Everyone run for your lives!"

Ariana giggled as she made one of her dolls climb the block tower.

"No Peter, you be nice." Ariana said. Mitchie made Peters head hang down.

"I'm sorry." Mitchie spoke as she made the stuffed bunny give the doll a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you." Ariana said letting her doll kiss Peter on his cheek. Alex smiled at the site before her while she waited for the pizzas to be finished.

"Guy's dinner." Alex announced as she cut the slices of pizza.

"But super Peter was saving the world." Ariana said as she showed her mother the stuffed rabbit who now had a cape around his neck.

"Super Peter can save the world while you eat." Alex said as she put her daughter into her booster seat.

**Hey guys =) Sorry this is a lil late in the day, wasn't around internet much today so I couldn't update till now(its like quarter to twelve right now)**

**Hope y'all enjoy this chap**

**R&R!**


	14. Chap 13

**Chapter 13: Ariana's special Day**

With school work piling up and Ariana at daycare both Alex and Mitchie felt like they hadn't been able to spend as much time with Ariana as they wanted. Yes, they had weekends and nights together but they didn't have any real one on one time together. So when December had approached Alex and Mitchie planned to take Ariana on a day where it was just the three of them having a great time as a family while Ariana got to do something she loved.

So that December 14th, a week before the Russo-Torres's and Reid's were going to head to the cabin yet again for the winter holidays, Alex and Mitchie were taking Ariana to Reptile Kingdom.

Over the last couple months Ariana had become fascinated with reptiles and amphibians, alligators, frogs and turtles in particular. She had even gotten a stuffed turtle for her birthday earlier that year that she had just loved. So when they had decided to take Ariana for her special day they knew that the Reptile Kingdom would be right up her ally. They had told Ariana a week in advance about their plans and all she talked about was seeing all the Alligators, Frogs, turtles, snakes and every other reptile she could think of. With all of the talk about seeing the reptiles (especially the morning they were actually going), Alex knew it was going to be an amazing day.

"Honey, come on we gotta do your hair." Alex said getting the hair brush and elastics out from the bathroom drawer. To fit the activities of the day Ariana was wearing a shirt with a crocodile and Alligator with the saying "Later Alligator, In a while crocodile" and a pair of jeans.

"Do you want an Alligator tail today?" Alex asked as she began to brush Ariana's hair.

"No! Want ponytails" Ariana replied.

"But if you have an Alligator tail you might get to pet the Alligators." Alex reasoned. Wanting a chance to play with the alligators Ariana let her mother do her hair.

"Ow mama, that hurts." Ariana complained as her mother pulled her hair as she brushed it.

"I'm sorry honey but your hair is a little tangled." Alex said trying to be as gentle as she could be. As far as Alex was concerned like her personality, Ariana's hair was crazy and always needed to be done because she was always all over the place.

"So what do you wanna see today?" Alex asked as she twisted the elastic around the end of the braid she had completed.

"Turtles! And froggies! And Aldergators! And snakes!" Ariana replied happily. Alex giggled as she kissed the top of Ariana's head and let her down off the chair.

"Well if you wanna go see them we gotta get ready." Alex said as Ariana bolted for the front door to get her winter boots on. The little girl got her boots on in a flash and patiently waited patiently for her mothers to do the same, but soon realized her mothers were not ready yet.

"Mama! Mommy lets go!" Ariana said impatiently as she tried to do up her winter jacket.

"Just a second honey, Mommy's still packing the bag." Mitchie said as she put Ariana's juice cup and a few snacks in the bag for the trip.

"Okay, now we can go." Mitchie said as Ariana twisted the door handle and raced out the door. The drive to Reptile Kingdom was about an hour and a half long, so Mitchie made sure to pack some toys for Ariana to make sure she didn't get bored on the way.

"We there yet?" Ariana asked.

"Almost honey, just a few more minutes." Alex replied. The little girl continued to look out the window in anticipation until they pulled up to their destination.

"Were here!" Ariana shrieked excitedly. Alex helped Ariana out of her car seat and the three year old took both Mitchie and Alex's hands and headed in. As soon as they got to the first exhibit, the alligators, Ariana's face broke out into a huge smile.

"Aldergators!" she exclaimed as Mitchie lifted Ariana up while Alex had the camera in hand, determined to take as many pictures as possible that day.

"He's cute." Ariana added pointing to one of the Alligators in the pit.

"Mama, I have my camera?" Ariana asked. Alex took out Ariana's Kidizoom camera (a birthday present from Alex's parents) and handed it to Ariana.

"Smile Aldergator!" Ariana giggled as she pushed the button and took the picture. Alex and Mitchie giggled as the little girl continued to admire the large reptile and take picture after picture.

"We take him home?" Ariana asked after she was done with her camera.

"I don't think we can honey, he's too big." Alex said. The little girls face fell a bit but it quickly turned back to a smile as soon as they reached the next reptiles on the list: two huge Galapagos Tortoises.

"Look at those Ari, they're huge!" Mitchie said

"You could probably ride on one of them." Ariana continued to watch the tortoises and at one point began to laugh.

"He's lookin' at me." The little girl giggled pointing to the closer tortoise.

"Hi turtle!"

After taking a few pictures the girls headed into the next room where there were smaller turtles on display.

"Look mommy! Baby turtles!" Ariana said as she started looking around the room. As she looked around at the turtles she kept looking at one turtle that was happily swimming around in the water and looking around.

"He's wondering where you are honey." Alex said as she watched her daughter and the turtle.

"I right here! I right here!" Ariana said to the turtle to make sure he knew where she was. Alex and Mitchie watched Ariana race around the room to see all the turtles and before they left the turtles Ariana went up to her favourite one, which she had ended up calling "Squirt" and told him she loved him before they made their way to the frogs.

"Look at those cute little ones Ari." Alex said pointing out the little green frogs.

"Are they the babies?" Ariana asked.

"I don't know they might be." Alex answered.

"They the babies." Ariana said matter of factly.

"Oh Ari, look at that one he's a blue-ish purple." Mitchie pointed out a small frog that was climbing on a leaf.

"I like blue." Ariana smiled as she eyed the frog carefully. One of the workers, Devin, saw how interested Ariana was in all of the animals and he asked Mitchie and Alex if Ariana wanted to see some other animals. Knowing Ariana would get a kick out of it they agreed and the worker brought out Iggy, the iguana.

"You want to pet him?" Devin asked. Ariana smiled and nodded as Devin knelt down to Ariana's level and she lightly pet Iggy.

"He feel funny." Ariana giggled. Along with Iggy, Devin brought out Brutus, the miniature Alligator.

"Aldergator!" Ariana squealed, wanting nothing more than to run up and hug the small reptile.

"I think you just made her day." Alex commented as she saw her daughter's eyes immediately light up.

" Mommy you right, I get to play with aldergator!" Ariana squealed remembering her mother's words earlier that morning.

"See, I told you if you got an alligator tail you could play with them." Alex smiled.

"Do you wanna pet Brutus?" Devin asked. Without hesitation Ariana nodded and walked over. After making sure Brutus's mouth was clamped shut Devin let Ariana pet the small alligator.

"Can I hug him?" Ariana asked causing the three adults to chuckle.

"I don't think so honey, he might bite." Alex said.

"But he nice, he don't bite." Ariana insisted as she continued to run her hand on Brutus's back gently,not believing that the little reptile she was petting could be dangerous at all. They thanked Devin for letting Ariana pet the reptiles and they continued on their way.

"I hungry." Ariana complained. Alex took a look at her watch and realized it was just passed lunch time.

"Okay, let's go get some lunch and we'll keep looking around." Alex said as the three girls headed to the little restaurant near the entrance of the building. After ordering burgers and chicken nuggets (the chicken nuggets were all in shapes of reptiles to keep with the theme) the girls sat down and enjoyed lunch

"You having fun baby?" Alex asked as she took a bite of her burger.

"Yeah, lotsa fun." The little girl smiled. After lunch was done Ariana was more than ready to start looking around again. When they entered the area containing the spiders Ariana got a little scared, spiders were probably the only thing in the entire building Ariana didn't like so they quickly made their way through the room and onto the next.

"Spiders are ucky." Ariana commented as they left the room making a face that had Alex and Mitchie in hysterics. For the next hour and a half the three girls continued to look around the large building and before they left Alex had one more thing up her sleeve

"Wanna go to the gift shop and pick two things out Ari?" Alex asked.

"I get to pick?" Ariana asked as a smile grew on her face.

"Yep, you get to pick." Alex smiled as they entered the gift shop. Ariana started looking around and the first thing she came across was the shirts. There was a pink shirt with the name of the building on the top and bottom and a lizard in between the words.

"I want that one!" Ariana said pointing to the shirt. After Alex picked out Ariana's size(Alex got it in a size bigger so she could continue to wear it for a while) she continued to look around the store for the second thing she wanted. As she made her way over to the stuffed animals Ariana looked through the bin of reptiles and amphibians.

"Look mama a lizard." Ariana said pulling out a red stuffed lizard from the bin. Just as she was about to say she wanted the lizard Ariana spotted a stuffed frog and let the lizard go.

"I want him!" Ariana declared taking the stuffed animal and carrying it with her to the cash register. About half an hour later Ariana was getting tired. Ariana was already asleep by the time Alex had carried her to the car an hour later after thanking the workers for letting them join them for the day. Alex placed the new stuffed animal and t-shirt beside Ariana and leaned over to kiss her forehead before closing the door and getting into the car and heading off.

"I think she had fun," Alex said as she was pulling out of the parking lot.

Mitchie was flipping through the pictures Alex had captured on the digital camera, a grin upon her face.

"Yeah, hahah look at this one Lex." Mitchie giggled as they pulled up to the stop light. The picture was of Ariana's reaction when Devin brought out the little Alligator, her eyes wide and a huge smile on her face. Alex let out a giggle and continued on their way home. When they had reached the apartment an hour or so later Alex picked up Ariana from her car seat and as they made their way into the apartment Ariana woke up

"Hey sleepy head." Alex said as she unlocked the door to the apartment.

"You have fun today?" The three year old nodded as best as she could while resting her head on her mothers shoulder.

"Where my frog?" Ariana asked looking around trying to find it. Mitchie pulled the frog from under her arms and handed it to Ariana. Although Alex didn't want Ariana to miss out on dinner (by now it was nearing 7) it was obvious the little girl was tired from all the day's activities so after getting their jackets and shoes off Alex brought Ariana to her room and changed her into her Pyjama's.

"Night honey." Alex said kissing her daughters forehead as Ariana cuddled into her sheets with her new stuffed animal. As Alex closed the door and Ariana mumbled a goodnight Alex knew one thing

They definitely had to do this again.

**Hey y'all what's up? So I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I got the idea from watching Jon and Kate plus 8 when Alexis went to the reptile museum and I thought it'd be cool to do the same with Ari. **

**R&R see y'all Wednesday =D**


	15. Chap 14

**Chapter 14: The Proposal**

Like the year before, Christmas at the cabin with Alison, Chase and Jaiden was amazing and memory filled. The snow fell a lot more, making for some fun during the day making snowmen, snow angels and even a small igloo that Ariana and Jaiden got a kick out of since they were really the only two who could fit in it, and after New Years it was back home to settle into routine again. The cold of winter was nearly half over and it was the first week of February, the 6th to be specific, which happened to be Mitchie and Alex's 4th anniversary.

And Mitchie was going to make sure it was one anniversary to remember.

It was about 9 o'clock in the morning and Mitchie was heading over to her sister Dallas's place to pick her up with Ariana(thankfully Alex was the only one with school that day so it made the trip much less sneaky on Mitchie's part, Mitchie had never been good at sneaking). As she started the car Mitchie pulled out her cell phone and dialled Dallas's number

"Hello?" Dallas answered a few seconds later.

"Ready to go shopping?" Mitchie asked her sister.

"Yep, in a few, just meet me here in 10 and I should be ready." Dallas replied. The younger girl did as she was asked, to pass time she had to stop at the gas station to fill up her car along the way, and by the time she had gotten to Dallas's house she was ready to go.

So where are we stopping?" Dallas asked as she hopped into Mitchie's car.

"I think the jewellery place just up the street from our place. I noticed it a few weeks ago and wanna check it out." Mitchie said as they drove down the street.

"So we'll go there."

"Okay. Do you have an idea of what you want to get?" Dallas asked. Mitchie bit her lip and looked at her sister.

"Actually…I kinda already picked out the ring." Mitchie answered.

"Like, 2 weeks ago."

"Then how come I'm coming along?" Dallas questioned, not quite sure about what was going on in her younger sisters head.

"Well I wanna get your opinion on it. Alex's mom and dad already saw it and since you and Alex are like sisters basically I wanted to get your opinion too." Mitchie replied. Finally seeing the logic in the plan Dallas nodded and they headed out to the store.

"Hello, welcome to Manhattan jewellers, how may I help you?" the salesperson asked.

"I'm here to pick up a ring. It should be under Mitchie Torres." Mitchie replied, holding Ariana's hand so she didn't wander off too far.

"Okay just a second I'll go check." The woman replied as she headed into the back room to get the ring. A few minutes later she came out with the ring box.

"I believe this is the one." She said handing the ring box over to Mitchie

"Thank you." Mitchie smiled as she took the box.

"What do you think?" Mitchie asked, opening the box and revealing it to her sister. The ring was gorgeous, a 1.9 karat diamond on top of a thin silver band, it wasn't flashy, it was decently priced and definitely something Alex would love **(pic in my profile)**

"It's gorgeous Mitchie. Alex is going to love it" Dallas smiled.

"What do you think honey?" Mitchie asked as she knelt down and showed Ariana the ring.

"You think mama will like it?"

"Mama gunna love it!" she replied making the two girls laugh.

"Then it's settled." Mitchie said closing the box and bringing it to the cash register to pay. They had to make it back home fast because Mitchie still needed to get everything else ready for later that afternoon. After dropping off Dallas and thanking her for coming along Mitchie and Ariana headed home to get started.

"You wanna help me bake some cupcakes?" Mitchie asked as she pulled out the mixer, instant cake mix, 4 eggs, and dream whip. The recipe had been a Torres family recipe since Mitchie's grandmother had tried it one day and found the cakes turned out a lot better and fluffier using the recipe. Ariana nodded excitedly and after Mitchie had cracked the eggs, just in case Ariana happened to drop one and make a mess(which they didn't really have enough time to clean up after), Ariana added the package of dream whip and cake mix along with some water. Adding the paper cups to the tin (Mitchie had managed to find ones that were stripped red and green to compliment both of their favourite colors) Mitchie poured the mix into the paper cups and added a little note, covered in tinfoil so the note wouldn't get burned or covered in batter, into one of the cupcakes after all the mix had been poured.

The general grand plan was this: Mitchie would show up at Alex's class (all of Alex's friends in class and the professor were in on everything also, she knew to plan ahead so she didn't disrupt the class) and tell everyone that she had made cupcakes as an anniversary present for Alex and she was dropping them off for her and her friends. After giving everyone else their cupcakes Alex would get the message in her personal cupcake and that would be that. About twenty minutes later the timer on the stove went off.

"Mommy, cupcakes are done." Ariana said as she peeked in the oven at the cupcakes. Mitchie came into the kitchen and put the tray of cupcakes onto the counter to cool off. She had marked Alex's specific cupcake by putting a little A( not totally visible but visible enough Mitchie could see it) at the bottom of the cup and Mitchie set that one aside from the others.

"Now what color should we color the frosting?" Mitchie asked pulling out the container of frosting and the food coloring from the cupboard.

"Green! Mama's color." Ariana replied.

"Okay, green it is."

Mitchie mixed a little green food dye into the icing and started icing all of the cupcakes and for an added touch used the decorating kit she had gotten to write Alex's name in red on top of her cupcake. Packing everything up, Mitchie got Ariana ready and headed over to Alison and Chases where Ariana would be staying while Mitchie ran over to the college.

"So you nervous?" Alison asked after Ariana had run off to play in the living room.

More than you can imagine." Mitchie answered, fiddling with the ring box in her pocket.

"Don't worry. Everything is going to be fine. There's no way she'll say no." Alison assured her. After thanking Alison for watching Ariana and giving her a hug Mitchie headed out to the car and drove off. While on her way, Mitchie tried her best to calm down but nothing really seemed to be working. Taking a deep breath before stepping out into the parking lot of the college Mitchie grabbed the box of cupcakes she had in the passenger seat and headed in. Mitchie's heart raced as she walked down the halls and into room 251 where Alex was currently in her Art and Design Class. After looking into the class first, Mitchie knocked on the door and waited for the professor to let her in.

"Well, hello young lady." The professor, Mr. Larkin greeted.

"Hi, I'm looking for Alex Russo." Mitchie asked, putting her (hopefully convincing) acting skills to work. Alex's head snapped up at the all too familiar voice and looked over at the door where her girlfriend was currently standing with a box of something in her hands.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I just thought I'd share some anniversary cupcakes with my girlfriend and her class"

"No, not at all. Come in." Mr. Larkin said as Mitchie came into the room. Alex smiled at her girlfriend and watched Mitchie curiously as she handed out cupcakes to the entire class, including Mr. Larkin, before making her way over to her.

"Happy anniversary baby." Mitchie smiled giving Alex her special cupcake with her name written decoratively over the top and kissing her cheek. Alex giggled and started un-wrapping her cupcake and finally took a bite.

"These are amazing." Alex complimented. Before her second bite Alex noticed how everyone was watching her closely, almost waiting for her to do something. This wierded her out a bit (or a lot) but she merely shrugged it off and took the second bite of her cupcake. As she took the bite she grimaced.

"Uh...Mitch, I think something landed in this one." Alex said looking at the piece of tin foil in the cupcake. Usually Mitchie never got anything in what she made so this was a little surprising to Alex.

"Oh, crap I'm sorry. What is it?" Mitchie asked as Alex pulled out the tinfoil wrapped note. By the look on Mitchie's face Alex could tell that Mitchie had done it purposely, you don't date someone for 4 years without picking up their little signals, and looks, so she started un wrapping the tin foil and saw the piece of paper.

"What the…" Alex began as she unfolded the piece of paper. As she looked at the paper the two simple words written in the small note made Alex's heart do flip flops, her breath hitch, and nearly caused her eyes to water right then and there.

_**Marry Me?**_

As Alex looked up from the piece of paper Mitchie was already down on her knee, ring box still closed.

"Alex, we've been together for the last 4 years, and it's been the most amazing 4 years ever. We've been through so much together and I know that I wouldn't be where I am now without you there with me. The day you sang to me and asked me to be your girlfriend was single handedly the best day of my life. And I know we'll be waiting till at least next year but to me it's worth the wait, as long as you're there with me." Mitchie recited as Alex's (and a few other people's) eyes welled up with tears.

"Alexandra Margareta Russo, will you marry me?" Mitchie asked as she opened the ring box revealing the gorgeous ring. Alex had her hands covering her mouth but still managed to nod and held out her hand as Mitchie placed the ring onto her finger, applause erupting within the class room. After a quick kiss, shared I love you's, and explaining exactly how she pulled everything off, Mitchie gave Alex a kiss good bye before heading over to Alison's house to pick up Ariana.

"Hey, how'd it go?" Alison asked as she opened the door. Mitchie's face immediately turned into a face eating smile.

"She said yes." Mitchie replied and instantly Alison brought Mitchie into a hug.

"Congratulations!" She squealed happily. The girls broke apart and Ariana came running to the door.

"Mommy!" she exclaimed, running and jumping into Mitchie's arms.

"Hey sweetie. You have fun?" Mitchie asked.

"Yeah, but Jaiden not here." Ariana reported sadly.

"Yeah, cause Jaiden's at school right now honey." Mitchie replied setting her down.

"Come on, let's get shoes on."

The little girl got her shoes on quickly and after saying their goodbyes Mitchie and Ariana headed home, hoping to beat Alex on the way. They had beat Alex by a good ten minutes and when Alex did get home Ariana greeted her mother the same way she had greeted Mitchie.

"Hey honey, have fun today?" Alex asked as she let her daughter rest on her hip.

"Yup, I went to Aunt Ali's" the little girl smiled. Ariana looked down and noticed the ring now resting on her mother's finger.

"Pretty ring huh mama?" Ariana asked.

"Very pretty." Alex smiled, and then looked at her daughter curiously.

"Did you know about mama's ring?" Alex asked. Ariana pretended to zip her lips.

"Lips are sealed mama." Ariana giggled as she looked over at Mitchie who was placing the left over cupcakes on a plate.

"I Promised mommy."

"Oh did you now?" Alex asked as Ariana gave a nod.

"She said no say anything."

With a sly smile, Alex let Ariana down and headed over to Mitchie.

"Cupcake?" Mitchie smirked holding out one of the extra cupcakes. Alex just giggled as she nodded and right after she had taken the cupcake, smudged the green icing that was on it on Mitchie's nose.

"Hey, what was that for?" Mitchie asked, trying her best to fake being hurt by her fiancé's actions.

"For making our daughter promise to not say if she was involved with the ring or not." Alex giggled. Mitchie gave Alex a kiss, in turn getting icing on Alex's nose as well.

"I love you." Mitchie stated as she looked into her girlfriends hypnotizing brown eyes, the same eyes that had had her hooked since the day the girls had met.

"I love you too." Alex replied as she hugged Mitchie and let her head rest in the crook of her neck.

**Hey everyone! You know, I loved writing this chapter the most I think. The proposal Idea I got from how my friend was asked out to prom last year but instead of cupcakes it was muffins for her haha. So I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you Monday!**

**R&R!**


	16. Chap 15

**Chapter 15- Ariana's 4****th**** Birthday. **

When May 3rd neared Alex knew this year was going to be a big birthday party. This year, Ariana was allowed inviting 5 of her friends from daycare(along with Jaiden who was invited every year), a small start for her first "real" birthday party, and clearly she had already thought her list of guests through before Alex had even asked her for the list.

"I want Chelsie, Everlie, Tory, Isabella, and Katie to come." The little girl had recited as soon as her mother told her she could have 5 friends over. Before they could hand out invitations they had to decide what the theme of the party was going to be. After trying to come up with some ideas but not really getting any good ones, Alex decided why not let the birthday girl choose? So the Saturday before the party Alex, Mitchie and Ariana headed over to Party Plaza hoping to get an idea for the theme and some decorations.

"You excited to pick out your party stuff Ari?" Alex asked as she looked into the rearview mirror.

"Yeah!" Ariana replied happily.

"Are we there yet?"

"Almost baby girl." Alex replied as she continued to drive. Ariana kept an eye out the window and as soon as she saw the Party Plaza sign, she had been there before to get her party supplies the year before and recognized the sign and building, her eyes widened.

Were here! Were here!" the little girl exclaimed as Alex found a near by parking spot and all three girls headed into the store.

"Ari, look at this." Alex said pointing to all the webkinz themed party supplies. Ariana had a huge collection of webkinz, all of which she cared for deeply as if they were live animals, but the little girl didn't seem to be too interested in the theme. They made their way around the store and looked at all the party supplies the store had to offer. As they looked through the 6th isle Ariana had found her theme.

"Mama, look! Butterflies!" Ariana exclaimed pointing to the supplies for a butterfly themed party. Ariana loved catching butterflies whenever they were out and always included them in any picture she drew.

"You want a butterfly party?" Alex asked, making sure that it was 100 percent what her daughter wanted. As Ariana nodded enthusiastically Alex and Mitchie grabbed what they needed before heading to the till and paying for everything. Once they got home Alex got to work on filling out the invitations and Ariana got to write her name on the bottom, with Alex's help of course.

"Ari, I'm putting the invitations in your backpack okay? Make sure you don't lose them." Alex said showing Ariana the compartment of the backpack where she was putting her invitations to hand out.

"Okay, are we going now?" Ariana asked as she grabbed her sweater and put it on.

"Yep, we gotta go or mama's gunna be late for school." Alex said holding out her hand which Ariana instantly took. Alex quickly dropped off Ariana off at daycare and Ariana started looking for all her friends.

"Chelsie!" Ariana exclaimed pulling out one of the invitations from her backpack.

"I'm having my birthday party on Saturday and mommy and mama said I could invite 5 people." Ariana said handing the invitation to Chelsea. The girl thanked her friend for the invitation and by the end of the day Ariana had handed out all her invitations. 

On Saturday morning Ariana woke up bright and early, she had been waiting all week for Saturday to get her and now that it had she wanted to make sure everything was ready.

"Hey baby girl, happy birthday." Alex smiled as she gave Ariana a hug and kiss. It was hard for Alex to believe Ariana was already four, where had the time gone?

"You excited for your party today?" the little girl smiled and nodded.

"Is everything ready?"

"Not yet sweetie, we still need to have breakfast first and then we can start getting everything ready." Alex answered. As Alex got Ariana some breakfast Mitchie came out of the shower.

"Hey baby girl." Mitchie smiled as she wrapped her arms around Ariana from behind and gave her a kiss on the head.

"Happy birthday."

After all the girls were done breakfast Alex started pulling out all the party decorations and supplies.

"Ari, could you clear off the table and put the table cloth on please?" Alex asked. Ariana took the plates and everything else off the table and spread the table cloth the best she could.

"This good mama?" Ariana asked. Alex looked over the table cloth and besides being a little off center Ariana had done a good job.

"Thank you honey." Alex smiled as she gave Ariana a kiss.

"You're welcome." The little girl replied as she continued to find ways to help out around the apartment. It took about an hour but finally everything was completely decorated. To match the theme Ariana was dressing up in a white and blue dress that had pink, yellow and black butterflies all around it, ponytails(or antenna's as Alex had called them) and baby blue toy wings. The first ones to Arrive, like every year, were Alison, Chase and Jaiden.

"Aunty Ali!" Ariana shrieked as she jumped into Alison's arms.

"Hey little miss butterfly. Happy Birthday." Alison said giving the little girl a hug. After setting Ariana down she right away went over to Jaiden.

"Hi Jaiden." Ariana smiled at the older boy.

"Hi Ari, happy birthday." Jaiden said handing the birthday girl her present.

"Thank you, but mama said we're opening presents later." Ariana said as she brought the present over to the table.

"So we'll put it here."

Over the next several minutes the rest of the guests had shown up, Including all the family that was invited as usual, and Ariana seemed to be having a great time, although poor Jaiden was left being the only boy in the entire group of party guests (not including parents). The girls wanted to play webkinz and it was obvious Jaiden wasn't really interested in playing with stuffed animals. Seeing Jaiden feeling a little left out in the midst of playing webkinz Ariana got an idea for a new game that Jaiden would be able to play too.

"Guys, lets play princesses and prince. We're the princesses and Jaiden's prince charming!" Ariana piped up. Jaiden smiled a bit, finally knowing they'd be playing a game he was remotely interested in playing, and with everyone's approval Ariana ran to her room and got her play clothes.

"Here Jaiden, you have the crown." Ariana said placing the king's crown on Jaiden's head, then handing him the cape that went along with the outfit.

"And we're princesses." She added handing out a tiara to everyone. For the next forty five minutes the girls and Jaiden had a blast playing Prince and Princesses. Alex and Mitchie watched amusedly as Ariana would continuously ask Jaiden to save her when he had to try and save one of the other girls. There was no denying it; Ariana loved being the center of everyone's attention. After the game of Prince and Princesses calmed down Alex and Mitchie called the kids over for presents.

"Okay so what were going to do is Ariana is going to spin the pop bottle and whoever it points to is who's present Ariana will open." Alex explained. Ariana gave the bottle a good spin and the first person it hit was Everlie. Everlie handed her present over to Ariana and Ariana handed the card over for Alison to read (Both Alex and Mitchie had their camera's running, Mitchie the video camera and Alex the digital camera)

_**Have some cake**_

_**Then have some more**_

_**Because today's the day**_

_**That you're turning FOUR!**_

_**Happy birthday**_

_**From Everlie**_

After Alison had finished reading the card Ariana started ripping the wrapping paper off the present. A play make up kit complete with brushes and some stick on earrings was what Everlie had gotten her.

"Thanks Everlie." Ariana smiled as she placed the present behind her. Spinning the bottle again Ariana waited patiently for it to stop before it landed on Tory.

_**A little butterfly told me **_

_**You're four years old today**_

_**Hope you have the best birthday ever**_

_**Happy birthday!**_

_**From Tory**_

Ariana tore through the wrapping paper that held a huge set of Polly Pocket toys and clothes. After the thank you's Ariana continued to spin the bottle and made her way through the list, and finally it landed on Jaiden.

_**Happy Birthday Four year old!**_

_**Wishes for a special little girl**_

_**May all your dreams come true**_

_**Love Aunt Ali, Uncle Chase and Jaiden**_

Ariana opened the bag and her eyes widened as she took the present out, the lion webkin she had been eyeing not even two weeks ago along with a few new outfits for her other webkinz.

"You remembered." Ariana said as she looked over at Chase and Ali then Jaiden.

_~2weeks earlier~_

"_Mama can we go look around in the store?" Ariana asked. Ariana, Jaiden, Alison and Alex were currently on a trip to the mall and they had just passed a store that specialized in webkinz and all the accessories that they came with. The mothers didn't seem to have a problem with it so they brought the kids into the store. Ariana and Jaiden went around the store looking at all the different Webkinz the store had to offer, Ariana getting more of a kick out of it than Jaiden. They were moving on to another shelf when Ariana saw one she knew she couldn't leave without. It was the lion and the second she saw it she knew she had to have it. _

"_Jaiden! Come look at this one!" Ariana called out. The older boy walked over to his friend and saw the one she was looking at. _

"_That's cool" he commented._

"_Yeah. I don't think mama or mommy would let me get it." Ariana said sadly._

"_Why not?" Jaiden asked_

"_Cause it's almost my birthday." Ariana said. She gazed at the lion for a little longer and continued looking at the other webkinz. The little boy felt bad so after they had left Jaiden told his mother all about how badly Ariana wanted the lion._

Ariana ran over to Chase and Ali and gave them a hug then gave Jaiden a hug also. All the presents had been opened by now (Alex and Mitchie were saving their present for later that night) and it was time for cake.

"Okay everyone lets sing nice and loud okay?" Alex said as Mitchie lit the candles on the butterfly shaped cake she had made.

_Happy birthday to you_

_Happy birthday to you_

_Happy birthday Ariana_

_Happy birthday to you_

Ariana blew out her candles and everyone applauded once all the candles were blown out. The rest of the party went great. All the kids seemed to have a great time (even Jaiden regardless of the fact he was surrounded by girls all afternoon) and by 3:30 everyone had gone home and clean up had begun.

"So did you have fun with everyone today?" Alex asked her daughter as she finished cleaning up the last bit of decorations. With a huge smile on her face Ariana nodded and hugged her mother.

"Thank you mama." Ariana said.

"You're welcome." Alex replied kissing her daughter on the top of her head. Alex and Mitchie's parents came over for dinner like they did every year and finally it was time to unveil the last present to Ariana.

"Now this is present's from me, mommy, grandma, grandpa, Nana and Poppa." Alex said as she led Ariana into her bedroom, a sheet covering the present that was right in the middle of the room.

"A Card." Ariana noticed, pulling the card from the sheet and handing it to Mitchie.

_**Sugar and spice**_

_**And everything nice**_

_**Was still just three years old last night**_

_**But today little princess**_

_**Begins your fourth year**_

_**It seems with every birthday**_

_**You grow only more dear**_

_**Happy, Happy Birthday**_

_**Love Mama, Mommy, Grandma, Grandpa, Nana and Poppa**_

"Okay honey, lift up the sheet." Mitchie instructed after she had read the card. Ariana lifted the sheet and her eyes went wide. Under the sheet was the FurReal Friends Butterscotch Pony.

"Thank you!" the little girl squealed as she hugged everyone then went to pet the toy horse, automatically bringing it to life. Alex and Mitchie didn't see much of Ariana that night after she had gotten her new toy horse(which she had named Roxy), and when she was told it was time for bed she curled up in her bed with her new stuffed lion, since Roxy was much too big for her bed.

"Night baby, love you." Alex said as she kissed the birthday girl good night.

"Night mama, love you." Ariana murmured before slowly falling asleep.

**Hey everyone =D So I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, it took me a while to write but I hope it came out okay.**

**Read and Review!**


	17. Chap 16

**Chapter 16- The Week that Mitchie Left**

Alex and Mitchie hated being separated.

When they first started going out four years ago, Mitchie's parents took her on a spring break vacation for just over two weeks and the separation took its toll on the two girls. They texted all day from the second they got up in the morning till the last seconds they were awake. And when they did get to see each other again after those two weeks their parents couldn't separate the two girls for more than the hours they took to sleep.

And now they were finding themselves in that predicament again, while Mitchie headed to Florida for a culinary arts competition with a few other students from her school.

The trip was going to last about a week, but in the girls terms it might as well be forever. As Mitchie packed her suitcase the night before she left Alex sat on the bed moping while her fiancé packed.

"Do you have to go?" Alex sulked giving Mitchie the puppy dog eyes.

"Yes, I do. I know it sucks but trust me, the week will go by fast." Mitchie replied, throwing a t-shirt into her suitcase. As she turned around to look in the closet for more clothes Alex shuffled her way up the bed and sat on Mitchie's, now closed, suitcase.

"Alex, what are you doing?" Mitchie giggled.

"Forming a protest, you're not leaving and that's that." Alex declared as she sat firmly on the suitcase.

"Lex, come on you're being silly." Mitchie said giving her fiancé a kiss hoping to distract her.

"No, I'm not letting you leave." Alex repeated, standing her ground (or would it be sitting her ground?)

"Okay, you give me no choice." Mitchie said with a slight huff. Alex's eyes widened as she tried her best to prepare herself for what she knew was coming. Almost instantly Mitchie's fingers began to tickle Alex's sides immediately sending the girl off the suitcase and onto the bed in near hysterics.

"Mitchie, stop!" Alex fought out between fits of giggles.

"Do you promise to let me pack in peace?" Mitchie asked, continuing to tickle her fiancé.

"Yes, I promise." Alex once again fought out. Mitchie stopped tickling Alex and helped her sit up properly.

"You're mean." Alex accused as she gave Mitchie a playful glare.

"You know you love me." Mitchie smiled as she gave Alex a kiss. After Mitchie had finished packing and Ariana had gone to sleep Mitchie went to bed early since her flight was leaving early in the morning.

"Night babe." Mitchie whispered as Alex held her tight, knowing this would be the last time for a week they'd be able to sleep in each others arms.

"Night. Love you." Alex said nuzzling her face into Mitchie's neck. The girls fell asleep but at around 3 in the morning Alex had woken up. She tried to fall back asleep but nothing seemed to be working so she headed into the kitchen for something to drink. As she downed the glass of water she filled she remembered she hadn't written Mitchie her note yet.

Now, whenever Mitchie or Alex had to leave for any lengthly amount of time, they wrote each other little letters or notes for the other to hold onto until they got back. Even though they knew the note would come they always made a habit of hiding it somewhere different each time. Since Alex figured she wouldn't be falling asleep for a little while, she grabbed a piece of paper from the printer and began writing.

_Mitchie,_

_One week without you is like one moment without air ,one day without food and a week without water._

_One week without you is like a month without sunshine or shelter._

_One week without your voice is like a year without music, or birds, or rain and thunder._

_One week without your comfort, or being able to hold you in my arms is a week without sleep, since I can't sleep well without you in my arms_

_One week without talking face to face with you is like years alone in complete silence_

_One week without you in my life is like no life at all._

_I love you forever and miss you already_

_Alex_

_XoXo_

Folding the piece of paper into fours Alex went over to Mitchie's suitcase and hid the note in one of her shirts and after turning off the lights crawled back into bed, immediately throwing her arms around Mitchie's waist and kissing her temple. A few hours later when Mitchie woke up to leave she had to practically pry herself out of Alex's arms. Giggling, Mitchie shifted her way out of Alex's arms and headed to the bathroom to take a quick shower. Looking at the clock just after she had gotten out of the bathroom Mitchie groaned. It was 6:15 and her ride was due to be there at 6:30. Since she hadn't hid Alex's note yet, she grabbed it from her purse and looked around for a good hiding spot. Picking Alex's make up box, Mitchie hid the paper under a few of her make up brushes and by then it was time to head out. She gave Alex and Ariana a kiss goodbye as they slept and then wheeled her suitcase out of the apartment into the awaiting van.

When Alex woke up a few hours later she immediately noticed the emptiness in the bed. Her arms were just sprawled over the opposite side of the bed and not around Mitchie's waist. Looking at the clock she knew Mitchie had already left. She slowly made her way out of bed and noticed Ariana was up watching barney.

"Morning baby." Alex smiled as she kissed her daughters head.

"Morning mama." Ariana said hugging her mother.

"Where's mommy?"

"Mommy went on a trip remember? She won't be back for a few days." Alex answered as Ariana came and say on her mothers lap. The little girl pouted a bit but after Alex had assured her the days would go by quick she had perked up a bit and even started working on a "welcome back mommy" poster for when Mitchie got back. After making breakfast and getting Ariana bathed Alex hopped into the shower and started putting on her make up. When she reached into her make up bag she felt something at the bottom of the bag.

_Alex,_

_Remember, our love is the link that holds our two hearts together and if I could put into words how you make me feel when I think of you, and how much you excite me when I hear your sweet sexy voice, I would be talking forever. You're all that I need and want, Honey. I can't wait to be back and sit next to you and whisper into your ear and tell you that I love you, and kiss your lips, and to look into your beautiful eyes as you take my breath away. This week is going to go by fast I know it. Don't worry I'll be back soon._

_Love you forever my sexy lexy, can't wait till I get back_

_xoxo_

_Mitchie_

Alex smiled wide as she put the note in her pocket and headed back into the living room. Later that night after Mitchie had called to say she and the group made it alright Alex and Ariana were emptying the dishwasher. They had planned to go out to the park for a bit afterwards then maybe go out for a treat of ice cream but as Alex looked outside she could tell the weather was just not park going weather.

"Ari can you pass me the plate please?" Alex asked. Ariana nodded and picked up the plate and passed it to her mother.

"_BOOM!"_

Both girls jumped in surprise at the sudden flash followed by the loud noise, causing Ariana to almost drop the dish in her hand. They ran to the window and saw a flash of light a few seconds later. Then the noise appeared again, but this time a little louder.

"_BOOM!"_

Alex looked out the window in awe. She adored thunderstorms. When she was little she, Justin and Max could spend hours watching a good thunderstorm. But she looked over at her poor daughter and saw she felt completely different.

"Are you okay, honey?" Alex asked. Just then another flash of light hit

"_BOOM!"_

Ariana shook her head and hid in her mothers arms.

"I hate thunder and lightning." She whimpered.

"But why? It looks so cool" Alex said as she looked out the window, not wanting to miss anything. Ariana never seemed to mind the thunder and lightning before but clearly something had changed the girls mind.

"But it's loud and Chelsie said her aunty's house almost got hit by lightning." The girl explained, digging her face into her mothers shoulder even more than she already was.

"Honey it'll be okay, it won't hit us." Alex assured her.

"_BOOM!"_

Ariana flinched as the sounds started to get louder and louder.

"Are you sure?" Ariana asked her mother, clinging to Alex more with every loud noise that hit. Alex thought for a moment but couldn't really come up with an answer that would calm her daughter. But she did however come up with an idea to take Ariana's mind off of the thunderstorm.

"Here, how about we watch Cinderella." Alex said as she grabbed the DVD from the case. Cinderella was her absolute favourite Disney princess and whenever she was sick.

"Okay." The little girl said as she lay down with her mother on the couch. Within the hour Ariana had fallen asleep in her mothers arms and Alex brought her into her bedroom and put her to bed before heading to bed herself. As she slid into bed she remembered Mitchie wasn't there to cuddle with. With a sigh Alex grabbed one of the extra pillows and hugged it, hoping the next week would go by fast.

***One week later***

For the entire week Mitchie called every night to talk to Alex and Ariana after dinner(and twice the day of the competition to let Alex and Ariana know that their team had won the competition) and before anyone even knew it the week had gone by faster than they had realized.

"Mama, what time's mommy getting home?" Ariana asked as she played with Roxy.

" I think her plane's getting in soon. She's getting dropped off as soon as they get off the plane." Alex replied. She had wanted to go pick up Mitchie herself but Mitchie insisted she would just get a ride home with the rest of the class. A little while later Ariana had been looking around and saw one of Alex's old notebooks on the bookshelf.

"Mama what's this?" Ariana asked showing Alex the book. Alex looked at the book in amazement. She hadn't seen this notebook in such a long time.

"This is my old song book. Wanna hear one of the songs?" Alex asked. The four year old nodded enthusiastically.

"Okay come here." Alex instructed as she brought Ariana into her and Mitchie's bedroom, grabbing her old acoustic guitar from the closet.

"This was my guitar when I was little." Alex said playing around with the guitar for the first time in a while.

"Really?" Ariana asked in amazement.

"Yeah. What song do you wanna hear?" Alex asked. Ariana flipped through the book, not even being able to read any of the lyrics and pointed to the page she had landed on. Alex smiled and picked up the guitar and after making sure it was still in tune, she began to play.

_We talk on the phone every night  
I'm losin' sleep  
And when we hang up, you're in my dreams  
You're everywhere I go, or so it seems  
And when I get around you I say stupid things  
And things I don't mean_

_I'm falling head first over you (over you)  
I'm fallin' head first over you  
You're fillin' me up  
Just like a balloon  
I'm slippin and I'm falling headfirst  
I'm fallin' for you, I'm fallin' for you_

_girl give me a sign, show me the light  
Cause i'mma hangin on to every word you say  
And my hair colour's brunette, is that okay?  
Cause I'm getting the feeling that I just can't change,  
Do you feel the same way?_

_I'm falling head first over you (over you)  
I'm fallin' head first over you  
You're fillin' me up,  
Just like a balloon  
I'm slippin and i'm falling Headfirst  
I'm fallin' for you, I'm fallin' for you,_

_with the things that you do, I'm fallin' for you, I'm fallin, I'm fallin, I'm fallin  
With the things that you do  
(Headfirst, headfirst, headfirst, headfirst, headfirst)  
The things that you do!_

_I'm falling head first over you (over you)  
I'm fallin' head first over you  
You're fillin' me up  
Just like a balloon  
I'm slippin and i'm falling baby (headfirst)_

_I'm falling head first over you (over you)  
I'm fallin' head first over you  
(You got me feelin)  
You're fillin' me up  
Just like a balloon'  
I'm slippin and i'm falling baby  
I'm falling for you, i'm falling for you  
I'm fallin for you..._

Alex struck the final cord and looked at Ariana.

"I liked that song." Ariana complemented.

"Thank you, you know, I wrote that for mommy when I was 18." Alex told her.

"Just a couple months before you were born"

"And it never gets old." Came a voice from the doorway. Alex and Ariana looked up and saw Mitchie standing in the door way.

"Mommy!" Ariana squealed running into Mitchie's arms, causing Mitchie to giggle.

"Hey sweetie, you miss me?" Mitchie asked as she gave her daughter a kiss.

"Yeah, really lots." The little girl confirmed. Mitchie looked over at her girlfriend and smiled.

"What not even a welcome back kiss?" Mitchie smirked. Putting the guitar down Alex ran into her girlfriends arms and hugged her tight.

"I missed you so much." Alex murmured then gave her girlfriend her welcome back kiss.

"I missed you too, and I loved your note by the way." Mitchie said.

"I loved yours too, but what I didn't love was having the bed all to myself." Alex pouted.

"Don't worry, we can share it tonight." Mitchie assured her giving her girlfriend a kiss.

"Just the way I like it." Alex smiled.

**Meh, this chap's okay I guess, didn't turn out the way I wanted but I hope y'all like it =) and Aden, don't worry, Ariana will face everything you mentioned soon, its just a lil spread out in the story  
**

**R&R!**


	18. Chap 17

**Chapter 17- The Evil Red Spots**

Winter had just started and even then Alex and Mitchie knew that with winter came illnesses, it was pretty much a given. And even though they saw it coming they had hoped all the flu's or colds they knew to expect would show up later in the winter.

But clearly the children of Little Steps Daycare had other plans in mind.

The Thursday afternoon Alex had walked into the building to pick up Ariana, Karah immediately greeted her at the door.

"Hey Alex." Karah smiled.

"Hey Karah." Alex replied.

"Um, Alex, has Ari ever gotten the chicken pox before?" Karah asked as Jennifer continued to play with the kids in the next room. Alex looked at Karah questioningly.

"No, not yet why?" Alex asked.

"Well one of the kids had to be sent home and we think he had the beginnings of it. So just fair warning." Karah replied. Alex knew the chicken pox were not extremely serious, every child got them at one point or another, but none the less having them was no fun at all. She had gotten them when she was three and had scratched at them so bad she still had a few scars on her from it. Ariana came running over to her mother and with that the two Russo girls left.

It was a few days later, Monday, when Alex woke up to Ariana crying for her in the next room.

"Honey what's wrong?" Alex asked as she turned on the lights, her daughter sitting up in bed and scratching furiously through her pyjama top sleeves

"I got bumps on me." The little girl cried.

"And they're itchy."

Alex lifted up her daughter's pyjama top sleeve and right away knew what it was. She placed her hand on Ariana's head, then cheeks and told her daughter to lie back down.

"Honey, you have chicken pox. Remember when Danny had to go home a few days ago from daycare?" Alex asked. The little girl nodded.

"Well that's what he had too. So you're going to have to stay home until you get better." By that time Mitchie had entered the room.

"Hey, what's going on?" Mitchie asked, waking up from Ariana calling for Alex only a few minutes before.

"I got chicken pops." Ariana reported.

"Pox, honey." Alex corrected. Mitchie tried not to panic in front of Ariana so she called Alex off to the side to give a confession.

"Lex, I've never gotten the chicken pox." Mitchie admitted a look of worry on her face.

"Like, never ever?" Alex asked, which Mitchie answered with a nod.

"Okay well, you'll be at school during the day so that eliminates part of the risk of catching it. As for after school there's not much we can do besides make her stay in bed, which by the looks of it won't be that hard." Alex said looking at her daughter hugging one of her stuffed animals tight, not looking like she had any energy in her. After Mitchie had left for school Alex phoned into school saying she wouldn't be able to make it and then went back to check on Ariana. More spots had appeared by the look of it and Ariana was scratching at some on her arm.

"Honey you can't scratch." Alex said taking her daughters hand away from the spot she was scratching at.

"But its itchy mama." The little girl whined as she tried hard to listen to her mother and not scratch.

"I know it is honey but if you scratch it could leave a scar." Alex replied. Seeing her daughter in such discomfort Alex consulted the internet and found a few anti- itch remedies for chicken pox. Picking one of the more relaxing ones she headed back into Ariana's room where she was currently coloring in a picture of a lizard in her Littlest Pet Shop coloring book.

"Here honey, wanna have a bath? It'll make you feel better and not make you so itchy." Alex suggested. The little girl agreed and Alex started the bath and poured some Colloidal Oatmeal into the bath, which would hopefully get rid of the itch.

"Mama did you ever get chicken pox?" the little girl asked as her mother brushed her hair once her bath was done. Both Alex and Ariana found someone else brushing their hair soothing, it was like an instant relaxer that always made them feel better.

"Yep, when I was three. Uncle Justin gave it to me and I had it a lot worse than he did." Alex replied.

"But he had it a little longer than I did." Alex twisted a hair tie around Ariana's hair and called it done. A little while later Ariana was lying in bed, fighting to stay awake as Alex checked her temperature.

"Mama, can you tell me a story?" the 4 year old asked.

"Okay, what story do you want to hear?" Alex asked.

"How you met mommy." She replied, sending a smile straight across Alex's face.

"Well it was the beginning of the school year and the teacher told us we had a new student in our class and her name was Mitchie Torres. When she came to class they asked her to sit by me. Right away I knew I wanted to talk to her, she was very pretty, her eyes were a gorgeous shade of brown, and she had a really nice smile that had everyone else smiling with her."

"Like a princess?" Ariana asked. Ariana had a huge love of princesses, Cinderella in particular.

"Princesses are always pretty and have nice smiles."

"Just like a princess." Alex replied, a smile still stretched across her face.

"But I was too shy to say anything for a second. When I finally said something we kept talking and that was that. I knew mommy was the one for me." Alex finished.

"I like that story." Ariana smiled a bit, still struggling to stay awake.

"You tired baby?" Alex asked. Ariana nodded slightly.

"Then you should get some sleep. Take a nap for a bit." Alex recommended.

"Okay." The little girl replied as she sunk her head into her pillow and almost instantly fell asleep. Alex shut the door to the bedroom and let her daughter sleep. Ariana had slept most of the afternoon away and just before she had gotten up, Mitchie had come home from school.

"How's she doing?" she asked as soon as she had set her stuff down.

"Pretty good, she got quite a few more spots, a bit of a fever, and she's having a bit of a scratching problem but other than that she seems fine." Alex reported. At around 4:30 Ariana had woken up and came into the living room, rubbing her eyes as they adjusted to the light.

"Hey, how you feeling?" Alex asked as Ariana came and sat on her lap.

"Yucky and itchy." Ariana complained as she scratched yet again.

"Ari, I told you no scratching." Alex scolded as Ariana took her hand away from the area she was scratching.

"Sorry." The little girl apologized.

"Can I have some juice please?" she asked. Alex filled up Ariana's cup up with some Apple Juice and gave it to her.

"Honey, you're going to have to stay in bed for a bit okay? Mommy never had the chicken pox before so we don't want her to get it too." Alex said picking up her daughter and placing her in her bed.

"But I don't wanna stay in bed." Ariana whined, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I know you don't honey but you have to, do you want mommy to get sick?" Alex asked. Ariana looked at her mother and shook her head no.

"Then you'll have to stay in bed." Ariana sighed and lay in bed. For the rest of the night Alex kept going back and forth to check on Ariana and hopefully entertain her. Alex had told Several more stories from the top of her head, Ariana's personal favourite was one about a cupcake princess and muffin prince who were madly in love but could never be together because of their different pastry style up bringing's. The next morning when Alex and Mitchie had woken up Alex looked at Mitchie and was afraid to tell her girlfriend the bad news. When Mitchie had woken up she noticed Alex was looking at her with a look that just said "There's something you should know."

"What?" Mitchie asked.

"Um, babe, you should look in the mirror." Alex said as calmly as she could. A look of terror spread across Mitchie's face as she sat up in bed and headed to the bathroom, mentally praying that her worries weren't real. Spots covered her face, arms and everywhere else and Mitchie groaned. As she mentally cursed not having the chicken pox when she was younger she scratched at her arms and shoulders.

"Hey, no scratching, it'll scar." Alex said. Mitchie just pouted.

"Why couldn't I have just gotten chicken pox when I was little like a normal kid?" Mitchie complained, starting to scratch her arms again.

"No scratching." Alex repeated getting a glare from her girlfriend.

"And who likes normalcy these days? Now, back in bed, I'll get you breakfast." Alex said as Mitchie made her way back into bed, still scratching until Alex caught her.

"Stupid chicken pox." Mitchie grumbled as she continued to scratch at the evil red spots that now covered her body

* * *

Six days went by and so far Ariana had shown improvement, some of the spots had healed and she seemed to be feeling better. Mitchie however was a different story. Her chicken pox were driving her nuts. She had been scratching non-stop and her spots seemed to be staying. Alex had stayed home for two days then went back, leaving Mitchie with Ariana and that day Alison had come over upon Alex's request. Currently Ariana was playing with Jaiden (he had already had the chicken pox just over a year ago so he wasn't at any risk of catching it) and Mitchie and Alison were watching the latest episode of The Big Bang Theory.

"Ali, this is driving me nuts!" Mitchie exclaimed as she started to scratch her shoulder yet again.

"Mitchie if you don't stop scratching I will seriously be duct taping oven mitts over your hands." Alison threatened. Sure Ariana had been bad with scratching but Mitchie was by far the worst out of the two.

"You wouldn't." Mitchie challenged.

"Wanna bet?" the blonde asked, a look of total seriousness in her eyes. Knowing she meant business, Mitchie had stopped for the time being but about twenty minutes later she had begun scratching furiously again.

"Okay, that's it." Alison said as she got off the couch and headed into the kitchen to grab the pair of oven mitts in the drawer and tape. After a lengthily battle between Alison and Mitchie, Mitchie's hands were now covered by two oven mitts.

"Told you I would do it." Alison said as she threw the roll of tape onto the coffee table in front of them. Mitchie shot her friend a glare as she lay on the couch.

"Hey, you were the one who wouldn't stop scratching and I gave you fair warning." Alison said trying hard not to laugh at her friends covered hands. When Alex arrived home a few hours later she noticed the oven mitts now tapped to her girlfriend's hands.

"Um… what's with the mitts?" Alex asked.

"Ask our lovely friend Alison." Mitchie said giving Alison the death look.

"She wouldn't stop scratching so I gloved her. It was the only way to stop her from scratching herself to death." Alison said. Alex fought back laughter as she looked at poor Mitchie.

"Stupid chicken pox." Mitchie grumbled for probably the 40th time that week.

"I know babe, I know." Alex said giving her girlfriend a kiss on the forehead, hoping to make her feel better.

**So there y'all have it, chapter 17. I hope y'all enjoy it =)**

**R&R!**


	19. Chap 18

**Chapter 18- New Years Eve**

Unlike the last couple Christmases Alex, Mitchie Ari and the Reid's didn't spend Christmas at the cabin, but they did however gather together for Christmas dinner and a present exchange (which the kids participated in as well by getting presents for each other) and made plans to celebrate New Years together also.

Now, 2015 was going to be a big year in the Russo-Torres house.

That year would be the year Mitchie and Alex would be getting married, which both girls were anxiously awaiting the day they could officially be wife and wife.

That year would be the year both Alex and Mitchie would be graduating from college and would be starting at new jobs thanks to their schools amazing plan to help them find jobs right out of college.

That year Ariana would turn 5 and officially start kindergarten, something Ariana was anxiously waiting for.

And also, whatever else came their way during the year.

It was going to be a whirlwind of a year for everyone but they knew they were going to greet it with a bang. Alex and Mitchie invited the Reid's over for a New Years Eve dinner and small party and when the New Year began they had some party poppers they were going to set off on the deck outside.

"Ari, I'm running to the store do you wanna come with me or stay home with mommy?" Alex asked.

"I'll come." Ariana said as she got up from the living room floor where she had been coloring and put her winter coat and boots on.

"Mitch, we'll be right back." Alex said as Ariana took her hand and they headed out to the car. As they drove over to the store Ariana noticed the huge ball resting on top of the One Times Square building in the distance.

"Mama, what's that?" Ariana asked pointing to the large ball on top of the building.

"That's the Times Square ball. Tonight it's going to be all lit up and when it touches the bottom of the pole it'll be New Years." Alex explained. The first time she had gotten to experience the ball dropping up close in Times Square she was 12 and it had been an awesome experience. The crowd was huge and she had hoped maybe when Ariana was older they could take her over to Times Square on New Years and she could see it up close. But until then they'd have to stick to watching it on TV.

"I wanna see New Years." Ariana said excitedly, wanting desperately to see the ball all lit up as it welcomed in a new year.

"Well maybe if you stay up you'll be able to see it." Alex said as a smile reached her daughters face.

"I'll stay up!" she exclaimed causing Alex to giggle. They had reached the store and headed in to grab all the food they needed for the party later that night. When the party had been planned the families divided up the meal responsibilities: Alex and Mitchie said they would handle dinner while Alison and Chase had to handle dessert (which would eventually turn into Alison because Chase wasn't all that great at baking). So for dinner that night they were having a turkey dinner, even though they had had it not even a week before, and Alison was making Apple pie and home made Ice cream.

"Okay so we need frozen veggies, Cranberry Sauce, White Cranberry juice and Ginger ale." Alex read off as she made her way down the isles of Wal Mart. After picking up the needed items and looking around the store to see if there was anything else they needed Alex and Ariana headed home where Mitchie was already beginning most of the cooking. Even though the Turkey had only been in the oven for a short time, it still smelled amazing as Mitchie continued to run around the kitchen like a poor chicken with its head cut off. Wanting her girlfriend to slow down for a second Alex went into the kitchen to see if there was anything she could do to help.

"Mitch, are you sure there's not something I could do? I promise I won't burn anything." Alex asked. One of the main reasons Mitchie was the cook of the family was because Alex had a slight tendency to burn the things she made (which created the infamous cupcake incident that the girls laughed at whenever it came up)

"Lex, its fine. I got it." Mitchie assured her as she gave Alex a kiss on her forehead. For the rest of the afternoon while Mitchie cooked Alex and Ariana got everything set up for the party. It took a while but by the time 7 o' clock hit there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" a little voice called out through the apartment. Soon Ariana began running for the door, wearing a black and pink velvet dress and a bow clip. With a twist of the knob the door was opened, revealing Alison, Chase and Jaiden.

"Hi." Ariana greeted as all the Reid's came into the apartment. Ariana gave Jaiden a hug as his parents headed into the kitchen.

"Guys can you come help us set the table?" Mitchie called out. Ariana grabbed her best friends hand and the two kids headed into the kitchen and began putting out the plates and cutlery.

"No Jaiden, forks go on this side not this one." Ariana giggled as she corrected her friend's mistake.

"Sorry." Jaiden apologized as he went back and fixed his mistakes.

"Okay mommy, were done." Ariana announced as she placed the last napkin on the table.

"Thank you sweetie. Dinner should be done soon." Mitchie said as she finished mashing the potatoes. Once dinner was called everyone sat down to eat. Dinner went by slowly, mostly because the adults wanted to just sit and enjoy the company. After dinner and dessert was done everyone opened their crackers and both Ariana and Jaiden got a kick out of their paper crowns, resulting in a half hour game of King and Queen.

"Mommy is the ball gunna fall yet?" Ariana asked as she fixed her orange paper crown. She had been waiting all night to see New Years and was hoping she would be able to see it by now.

"No, not for another little while honey." Alex said as she looked at the clock as it only read 8:47. The little girl huffed as she went off to play with Jaiden. Trying to think of an easy way for the kids to pass the time Alex pulled out both Ariana and Jaiden's favourite movie: Finding Nemo.

"Hey guys. I'm starting Finding Nemo if you want to watch it." Alex said as the two kids ran over to the couch and got comfortable with some snacks and two pillows and blankets.

"Thank you, mama." Ariana said as Alex passed her the bowl of popcorn and put it between her and Jaiden.

"You're welcome; now don't make a huge mess please, the living room was just cleaned." Alex said as she let the two kids watch their movie. As the kids watched the movie the adults sat at the table and talked.

"So you guys excited for the wedding?" Chase asked. Even though the original plan was to wait until after they were finished school to get married, Mitchie and Alex had decided to have their wedding on February 6th, which was only about 5 weeks away. They had begun planning pretty much right after Mitchie had proposed so everything so far was ready to go.

"Very. It seriously cannot come fast enough." Mitchie commented as she held Alex's hand, both girls smiling ear to ear. About an hour later after discussing the wedding a bit more and how their final year of school was going, the parents realized how silent the kids were being. Getting up from the table Mitchie went over to the couch to check on the kids and almost melted at the sight before her. Both Ariana and Jaiden had fallen asleep on the couch, Ariana leaning over on Jaiden and her head in the crook of his neck. She quietly backed away and went over to get her camera from the counter. Taking off the flash she snapped a quick picture and showed it off to the rest of the group.

"They are seriously too adorable." Alison gushed.

"Hopefully they wake up before midnight. Ari really wanted to see the ball drop on TV." Alex commented, although she did hate the idea of ruining the adorable moment between her daughter and Jaiden. Deciding to let the kids be, the couples decided to play a couple card games to pass the time (a suggestion Mitchie had made since that's how she and her sister would pass New Years Eve until midnight had arrived). The current game: Cheat, one of Mitchie's favourites.

"Three one's" Alex said placing down three cards from her hand, her face serious and stone like.

"Two Two's" Alison followed as she placed two of her cards into the growing pile.

"One Three" Chase replied putting one of his cards into the mix.

"Five fours." Mitchie said, immediately noticing her fatal mistake that caused everyone to burst into laughter.

"Do we even need to call that?" Alex laughed. Mitchie's face was bright red from embarrassment but she still managed to laugh at herself and the game continued. By the end of the game Mitchie had come out the winner, despite her earlier mis-count that had everyone in hysterics, and a few rounds of go fish were played and Alex and Chase faced off in a game of war (which Chase ended up winning) before everyone realized how close to midnight it was. They thought about waking up the kids but if they were already asleep what was the sense in waking them up. The adults eyed the TV before the ten second count down began.

It's time!" Alison shouted excitedly as the ball on the screen began to slowly descend to the opening below and everyone in Times Square counted down the final ten seconds before the New Year began.

"Ten!"

"Nine!"

"Eight!"

"Seven!"

"Six!"

"Five!"

"Four!"

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"Happy New Year!"

The two kids still remained sleeping despite all the commotion among the adults. Both couples kissed as per the usual New Years tradition and Alex looked at Mitchie with a huge smile on her face as they broke apart.

"Ready for this year, babe?" Alex asked as she continued to think about everything that was going to happen in the year ahead of them, more than ready to take everything on as long as Mitchie was by her side.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Mitchie replied as she gave Alex another kiss. Ariana stirred before her eyes opened and she noticed the screen on TV showing the large ball she had seen earlier now glowing with color and everyone celebrating. Getting off of the couch and rubbing her eyes, Ariana walked over to where her mother was now standing.

"Mama, did I miss the ball?" Ariana asked groggily, hoping her mother would say no.

"I'm sorry honey but yeah, you were sleeping and you missed it. Don't worry, you'll be able to see it next year." Alex assured her as Ariana was lifted into her arms, clearly still tired.

"Here, lets go to bed." Alex said as she brought Ariana and tucked her into her bed.

"Night mama." Ariana managed to get out before her eyes closed again and she fell asleep. After setting off the party poppers outside Alison, Chase and Jaiden headed home, Jaiden fast asleep in his fathers arms, and Alex and Mitchie went to bed.

"Five more weeks babe, then you're officially mine." Alex murmured into her girlfriend's ear as they cuddled in bed.

" Mmm, Can't wait." Mitchie smiled as she began to slowly fall asleep.

**Okay, I'm not exactly overly thrilled how this turned out,I mean its okay, but I am so psyched for next chapter! Like so excited it will probably be the longest chapter in this story, and I know y'all will love it.**

**And just in case you were wondering why Mitchie's "five fours" was a mistake, there's only 4 of each card so its impossibly to have 5 fours, my cousins friend made that mistake during Cheat and we all laughed so hard**

**R&R!**


	20. Chap 19

**Chapter 19: The Wedding Day**

***Note, PLEASE listen to the songs as they're mentioned and by the artist, it makes the chapter that much better***

5 years as girlfriends

1 promise ring as a present for a golden birthday

1 year of planning every small detail of their perfect wedding

And it all came down to this day.

February 6th was more than just a day in Mitchie and Alex's lives. February 6th was the day Alex sat with Mitchie on her bed(baby bump and all) and sang a song that would eventually lead to the girls becoming girlfriends. February 6th was the day a year ago Mitchie came into Alex's class and proposed through a message in a cupcake in front of her entire class.

And now February 6th, 2015 would officially mark the day that Alexandra Margareta Russo and Michaela Katheryne Torres became wife and wife after 5 years of dating and one year of being engaged.

They had spent the night prior to their wedding at their parent's houses, making sure not to see each other the day of the wedding even though the night apart nearly drove the two of them crazy. Ariana, who was dubbed flower girl of the wedding, stayed with her mother for the night and the next morning at around 9 o'clock the hair and make up people arrived to work on Alex and her brides maids and the flower girl. There were about 9 girls in total at the Russo house: Alex, her bride's maids Pricilla, Alison, Harper, Chrissy, Danielle, Marissa, and Dana, then of course the flower girl Ariana. Alex's hair was down in loose curls cascading down her back and face. Ariana's hair was also done in loose curls (She had insisted she wanted her hair to look like Alex's) and her flower crown resting on her head. As everyone smoothed out their dresses (Alex and Mitchie had agreed on a black and red wedding so Alex's bridesmaids had red dresses on and Mitchie's bridesmaids were wearing black tuxes to have some more uniqueness to the day) they headed out to the awaiting limo and made their way over to the church where the wedding was to take place. The ride was only about 15 minutes long but it felt like an eternity to Alex. This was the day every girl dreamed and hoped for. The day where you start your life with the person you love more than life itself. As the girls pulled up to the church they all got out and with a shaky breath Alex got out of the limo, Ariana holding onto her mother's hand the entire way in.

"Mama, you look pretty." Ariana smiled as they waited for everything to begin.

"Thank you baby. You look pretty too." Alex said as she gave her daughter a kiss before the cue was given and Ariana and Jaiden (the chosen ring bearer) began their walk down the isle. Instead of the typical wedding march they had chosen "Hallelujah" by Lee Dwyze to walk down to. Everyone got in place and the song soon began.

_**I heard there was a secret chord  
That David played and it pleased the lord  
But you don't really care for music, do ya**_

As the music filled the church Ariana and Jaiden made their way down the isle, Ariana spreading her flower petals and giving a smile to the on lookers and Jaiden concentrating on making it down the isle with the rings still perfectly intact.

_**Well it goes like this the fourth, the fifth  
The minor fall and the major lift  
The baffled king composing hallelujah**_

Hallelujah

_**Hallelujah**_

_**Hallelujah**_

_**Hallelujah.**_

Just before the second verse began the bride's maids began to come out, starting with Pricilla and Mitchie's Bridesmaid Tiffany.As the verse continued Alison and Caitlyn, Harper and Ella, then Chrissy and Peggy made it down the isle.

Well your faith was strong but you needed proof  
You saw her bathing on the roof  
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya

_**She tied you to her kitchen chair**_

_**She broke your throne and she cut your hair  
And from your lips she drew the hallelujah**_

Finally the last few bridesmaids: Dana and Tess, Danielle and Adrienne, then Marissa and Angela had made it down just as the last Hallelujah was sung

_**Hallelujah**_

_**Hallelujah**_

_**Hallelujah**_

_**Hallelujah**__**  
**_

"You ready?" Jerry asked looking at his daughter, so grown up and beginning this whole new chapter in her life. As he looked at his daughter, becoming this grown up young woman that used to need the monsters chased away, he realized that his little girl was no longer his little girl, but a grown woman. Alex smiled and nodded as she linked her arm with her fathers and they proceeded out and down the isle, the music's beat creating the perfect moment for the bride and her father to enter.

_**Well, maybe there's a god above  
But all I've ever learned from love  
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya  
**_

Everyone watched in awe as Alex walked down the isle, glowing the way every bride does on her wedding day. As they made their decent down the isle, Alex noticed a huge smile on Mitchie's face just mere feet in front of her, Mitchie dressed in a white suit that Alex just loved and her hair put back in a clip.

_**It's not a cry that you hear at night  
It's not someone who's seen the light  
It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah**_

Hallelujah

_**Hallelujah**_

_**Hallelujah**_

_**Hallelujah**_

_**Hallelujah**_

_**Hallelujah**_

_**Hallelujah**_

Once the music stopped everyone took their seats and the ceremony began.

"Dearly beloved, we have come together on this day to celebrate and participate in the marriage of Alexandra Margareta Russo and Michaela Katheryn Torres. They are about to embark upon a grand journey, the itinerary of which is of yet unknown. But before setting forth on this adventure, they must first come to realize all that has gone into making their lifelong trip possible. They might not realize that they have all of you to thank for getting them here. It is you, their mothers, their fathers, their friends, relatives and teachers who have worked together to make them what they are today. It is you who have shaped and molded them into their present form. It is you who have led them or gone with them down life's paths."

Mouthed I love you's were shared between the girls several times as the priest read out his speech.

"There are some who believe that we come into this world with nothing - that the mind is a vast wasteland of nothingness, waiting ... no, needing to be filled with sights, and sounds and experiences. If this is true, than we are nothing but what we have sensed, synthesized down into thoughts and memories. This means that it is truly you who have made them what they are. Who is to say what events have influenced their development. Any one of you could be responsible for creating the parts of them which make them love each other. But whether this is true or not, each and every one of you has influenced them in some way, and they owe you their thanks for your ultimate gift - your friendship and inspiration."

As the speech was finished the priest announced that Alex and Mitchie had written their own vows and would be reading them out before Mitchie was to give a speech to Ariana.

"Alex, I promise to give you the best of myself and to ask of you no more than you can give. I promise to respect you as your own person and to realize that your interests, desires and needs are no less important than my own. I promise to share with you my time and my attention and to bring joy, strength and imagination to our relationship. I promise to keep myself open to you, to let you see through the window of my world into my innermost fears and feelings, secrets and dreams. I promise to love you in good times and bad, with all I have to give and all I feel inside in the only way I know how, completely and forever.

Tears filled Alex's eyes as Mitchie finished. After gaining some composure Alex started her vows.

"Mitchie, I used to be afraid of falling in love, of giving my heart away to just anyone. How could I trust someone to love me, to give to me all that I wanted to give? when I met you, I realized how much we could share together. We have chosen each other as life partners and today is, finally, our wedding day. I vow to be your faithful wife, and invite you to share my life as I hope to share yours."

Alex had to stop and wipe a stray tear away and Mitchie and a few guests lightly giggled.

"I'm okay, I'm okay." Alex assured the crowd getting a chuckle at everyone present before continuing.

"I promise to walk by your side, to love, help and encourage you; to listen and to care. I will share your laughter and your tears as your partner and friend. I promise to always respect you and honor you as an individual and to be conscious of your needs. I give myself to you as I am and as I will be for all of my life."

Now that the bride's vows were done the priest called Ariana over and asked her to stand with Mitchie for a special vow between the two of them.

"Ariana, I promise to accept and love you as my own daughter and to protect and love you all of my life. I promise to do my best to guide and support you - and to respect you enough to allow you to see the world through your own eyes, feel the world with your own heart and hands, and to hear words of kindness and love from your mother and me each day."

Alex's eyes once again brimmed with tears as Mitchie took the heart necklace she had been holding and placed it on Ariana's neck and Ariana gave Mitchie a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Finally it was time for the rings to be exchanged.

"Do you Alexandra Margareta Russo take Michaela Katheryn Torres to be your lawfully wedded wife?" the priest asked.

"I do." Alex answered, a huge smile planted on her face as she placed the ring on Mitchie's finger.

"And do you, Michaela Katheryn Torres take Alexandra Margareta Russo as your lawfully wedded wife?" the priest asked.

"I do." Mitchie answered as she placed the ring on Alex's finger.

"Alexandra and Michaela, in this company of friends and family, you have joined yourselves together in holy matrimony. May the commitment and devotion that you feel for one another, grow stronger every day of your marriage. Love is the single greatest treasure that we have the ability to share with another. Enjoy each other's company and never take each other for granted. By virtue of the authority vested in me by the State of New York, I now pronounce you wife and wife".

With the final words being said Mitchie kissed her bride and everyone applauded. Instead of being pelted with rice bubbles were blown by everyone as they entered the limo and headed to where the reception was taking place.

"Guess you're stuck with me now." Mitchie smirked.

"I think I can live with that." Alex said as she placed a kiss on Mitchie's lips. After a moment they broke apart, huge grins plastered on both their faces.

When they arrived at the reception the photographer asked to get a few pictures before they headed in. The first photos were of the newly wed couple, smiling ear to ear in every photo that was taken. Then he added the flower girl in which made for some cute family photos. Then the whole Russo family got together and got some pictures with Alex, and the Torres's did the same with Mitchie. The last photos were of Ariana and Jaiden, the flower girl and ring bearer. As Alex, Mitchie Chase and Alison watched the two children they knew the pictures were going to turn out amazing. After all the pictures had been taken they entered the reception area and everyone sat down to eat and chat. During dinner toasts were made by Connie, Steve, Justin, Max, Theresa, Jerry, Dallas (who of course teased her sister to no end throughout her toast, it was just how Dallas was) and several other family members who wanted to wish good luck to the newly wed couple. Finally after much anticipation it was time for Alex and Mitchie's first dance. For their main first dance they had chosen "Lucky" By Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat since that was the song they had danced to the night of their first anniversary. And to add a little something extra Alex had secretly chosen a song just for Mitchie: The Glee cast's version of Bruno Mars's Just The Way You Are(Glee was one of the girls favourite shows so it only fit they used their cover of the popular song). After Alex had told the DJ to play the song he asked everyone to clear the dance floor and Alex brought Mitchie onto the dance floor.

_**Oh, her eyes, her eyes, make the stars look like they're not shining  
Her hair, her hair, falls perfectly without her trying  
**_

As the lines about her hair was sung, Alex reached behind Mitchie's head and released her hair from the clip it was in, getting chuckles, whistles and applause from the crowd as they cheered them on.

_**She's so beautiful, and I tell her every day**_

_**Yeah, I know, I know, when I compliment her she won't believe me**_  
_**And it's so, it's so, sad to think that she don't see what I see**_  
_**But every time she asks me do I look ok, I say**_

_**When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change**_  
_**Cause you're amazing, just the way you are**_  
_**And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while**_  
_**Because girl you're amazing, just the way you are**_

_**yeah**_

_**Her lips, her lips, I could kiss them all day if she let me  
Her laugh, her laugh, she hates but I think it's so sexy  
She's so beautiful, and I tell her every day**_

_**Oh, you know, you know, you know, I'd never ask you to change**_  
_**If perfect's what you're searching for then just stay the same**_  
_**So, don't even bother asking if you look ok**_  
_**You know I'll say**_

"Come on Jaiden!" Ariana giggled as she brought the boy onto the dance floor, wanting to dance along with her mothers. Once they hand entered the dance floor they began to dance along with the music.

_**When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change  
Cause you're amazing, just the way you are  
And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while  
Because girl you're amazing, just the way you are  
The way you are, the way you are**_

_**When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change  
Cause you're amazing, just the way you are  
And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while  
Cause girl you're amazing, just the way you are. Yeah**_

The girls mimed the lyrics of the chorus to each other as the song went on and once the song was done the room burst into applause. Over the next hour the DJ played a variety of songs ranging from 80's rock, to 90's classics and the music of today. Then the DJ announced it was time for the traditional father/daughter dance. Since both girls were huge fans of Rascal Flatts they decided to make "My Wish" the song they would dance to with their fathers that night. Jerry and Steve took each of their daughters by the hand as the song began.

_**I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow,  
And each road leads you where you want to go,  
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,  
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.  
And if one door opens to another door closed,  
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,  
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,**_

_**But more than anything, more than anything,**_

_**My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,  
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,  
You never need to carry more than you can hold,  
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,  
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,  
Yeah, this, is my wish.  
**_

Both Steve and Jerry looked at their daughters. They were no longer the little girls that needed the monsters chased away from under the bed and came to them with every problem they had. They were young ladies now and were able to take care of themselves. It amazed both of them how fast time had gone by. It was as if time had gone by in the blink of an eye and they hadn't realized it until now, when they were dancing with their daughters on their wedding day.

_**I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,  
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,  
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,  
And you help somebody every chance you get,  
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,  
And you always give more than you take.**_

_**But more than anything, yeah, and more than anything,**_

_**My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,  
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,  
You never need to carry more than you can hold,  
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,  
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,  
Yeah, this, is my wish.**_

_**My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,**_  
_**Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,**_  
_**You never need to carry more than you can hold,**_  
_**And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,**_  
_**I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,**_  
_**Yeah, this, is my wish.**_

_**This is my wish**_  
_**I hope you know somebody loves you**_  
_**May all your dreams stay big**_

The song ended and both girls placed a kiss on their father's cheek and hugged them tight before they left the dance floor. The rest of the night was spent dancing, toasting and congratulating the new couple. As Alex held Mitchie's hand under the table she knew that this was a new chapter in their lives, and the best part? It was only just beginning.

**Okay so this chap wasn't as long as I hoped it would be but it was a great one to write =). I hope y'all enjoyed it.**

**R&R**


	21. Chap 20

**Chapter 20: Ariana's 5****th**** Birthday**

After the wedding day (and a honey moon in Hawaii courtesy of both the bride's parents and siblings) spring had begun and now it was May 3rd, the day Ariana Ryan Faith Russo turned 5 years old. Like the year before, Ariana was allowed 5 people over for the afternoon for a tie dye party, where the guests were going to be able to tie dye a shirt of their own. Then that night instead of having dinner at home the Russo, Torres and Reid families were heading to Coney Island for a beach side picnic and possibly if the weather was good and the water not too cold, swimming.

There wasn't much activity planned besides the obvious dying job, lunch, cake and presents so Alex and Mitchie were hoping the afternoon would go off without a hitch.

The first guests to arrive, as usual, were Alison, Chase and Jaiden.

"Aunt Ali! Uncle Chase!" Ariana squealed as she launched herself into Alison's arms.

"Hey muchkin, happy birthday." Alison said giving Ariana a kiss.

"How old are you now?"

Ariana smiled as she showed Alison all her fingers.

"Five!" the little girl replied happily.

"Im starting school soon."

"That's right, you are. What grade will you be in?" Alison asked.

"Kindergarten!" Ariana exclaimed. After talking a bit more and giving Chase a hug, Ariana left to play with Jaiden until the other guests had arrived.

"Can you believe she's five already?" Alex asked as she leaned her head on Mitchie's shoulder, watching her daughter play with her friends and having a blast. Alex thought back over the last five years and no matter what whenever she looked at Ariana all she saw was that tiny little 3lb 13oz baby girl in the NICU that was now this happy, bubbly and amusing 5 year old who was almost a perfect clone of her mother at her age.

"No. I'd really like to know where the last 5 years have gone." Mitchie replied. Alex took a quick glance at the clock to see what time it was.

"This time 5 years ago, I was lying in a hospital bed praying that she wouldn't have to be born early." Alex remarked, remembering the panicked state she had been in when Dr. Robbins had told her that her baby girl would possibly be born 5 weeks earlier than planned.

"Well it's no surprise she came early; she had to make a grand entrance so everyone knew that Ariana Russo had arrived." Mitchie joked causing her wife to laugh along with her. Ariana was definitely a girl who loved to find anyway possible to have the attention all on her, it had been that way since she was born. After a few more minutes of letting the kids play Alex called everyone to the table where a whole bunch of elastics were laying all over the table.

"Okay so does everyone have their shirts?" Alex asked. Everyone held up their white shirts and then placed them back on the table, eager to start tie dying. Going around to each of the children Alex, Mitchie, Alison and Chase helped them all twist their shirts into the pattern each kid had wanted and tied elastics around the shirts.

"Now we have yellow, blue, red and green dye in the bottles so pick the colors you want to use." Mitchie said.

"I want blue!"

"Can I use green?"

"I pick yellow."

"Yay, I get red!"

Over several garbage bags that had been placed over the table the kids had a blast squirting colors onto their once white shirts and by the time all 7 kids were done not a single drop of white was seen on any of the shirts.

"Now since these will have to sit over night we'll write your names on the tags and in two days Ari will bring them to daycare and you'll get them." Alex told the kids. Once all the shirts had been placed in plastic shopping bags and names had been written on each of the shirt tags the 7 kids went off to play once again, giving Mitchie and Alex enough time to get the table cleared for presents and cake.

"Okay, everyone back to the table, time for presents." Alex called out. The 7 kids rushed over to the table and waited for the present opening to begin. Just like the year previous, Ariana used a pop bottle to determine the present opening order and of course by the time she was finished opening all the presents she had gotten all sorts of clothes and toys from everyone (and from Alison, some earrings to go with Ariana's newly pierced ears that Alex and Mitchie let her get done as an early birthday present). As Ari threw away the wrapping paper from her presents Mitchie lit the candles on Ariana's tie dye cake.

_Happy birthday to you_

_Happy birthday to you_

_Happy birthday Ariana_

_Happy birthday to you_

Everyone clapped and cheered as Ariana blew out her 5 candles and Mitchie took the cake away to cut everyone a piece. Along with the tie dye icing Mitchie had also managed to make the batter tie dye which all the kids were amazed at. By two thirty the last kids had left and everything was cleaned up.

"So we'll meet you at the beach around 6?" Alison asked as she put her sweater on.

"Yep, if you get there before us make sure to get a good spot." Alex ribbed as she gave Alison, Jaiden and Chase a hug before they headed out. When 4:30 hit just two hours later everyone had begun packing all the food and clothes to get ready to head out to Coney Island for Ariana's birthday picnic.

"Mommy, where's my bathing suit? I Can't find it" Ariana asked as she walked into the living room with her backpack filled with her beach necessities.

"It should be in your drawer honey, it just got washed." Mitchie said placing a towel each for her and Alex into a gym bag. Ariana raced in her room and checked a few drawers before stumbling upon the one containing her bathing suit.

"I got it!" Ariana called from her room as she stuffed her bathing suit into her bag. After all the food, clothing and toys were packed up into the back of Alex's car the 3 girls headed off to Coney Island to meet up with everyone. Through out the drive Ariana asked numerous questions about Coney Island, since she had never been, and Alex told her the countless stories she remembered about visiting Coney Island with her dad, mom and brothers. She was in the midst of telling Ariana the story of the time when Justin and Max ruined her sand Castle by crashing their kite into it when they arrived at the beach. Swinging her door open, Ariana bolted onto the sand and was more than ready to jump into the water.

"Relax honey, we got all night here." Alex assured her daughter in hopes of calming her down.

"But I wanna go swimming!" the little girl told her mother adamantly. As Theresa, Jerry, Max, Connie and Steve showed up soon followed by the Reid's Alex and Mitchie began getting everything out of the cooler for dinner (Macaroni Salad, some sandwiches and other beach foods) while Ariana and Jaiden played on the beach. As the two kids played they noticed something moving just in front of them. To get a closer look at what it was the kids began moving slowly forward.

"It's a crab!" Jaiden exclaimed as he ran to grab the bucket close to him that was supposed to be for making a sandcastle. With one swift motion he covered the crab with the bucket and scooped it up, eventually trapping the crap.

"I wanna show mommy and mama!" Ariana said as she ran over with the bucket.

"Mama, mommy look!" Ariana called as she brought her bucket over to Mitchie and Alex. Mitchie and Alex looked in Ariana's bucket and saw a sand crab crawling around, probably trying to find its way out. Mitchie screamed almost instantly and hid behind Alex as Alex and Ariana laughed.

"Babe it's just a crab." Alex told her. Mitchie looked at Alex in disbelief.

"Just a crab? That thing is huge!" Mitchie said, thinking her wife was coo coo for coco puffs thinking the crap in their daughters bucket was small.

"It's not even the size of my palm!" Alex said as she started playing with the tiny crab with a stick. Mitchie watched in disgust as Alex and Ariana continued to play with the little crab. Soon the girls became bored of it and put it back, of course Mitchie freaked when it came close to her. A little while later once dinner was done and everyone had changed into their bathing suits everyone had decided that going swimming together would be a great idea…except Alex, who refused to step foot in the water.

"Alex come on, it's not that cold." Mitchie said as she walked towards the water.

"Yeah it is. Just look at the water, it looks like its freezing." Alex whined.

"Lex come on pretty please? Everyone else is in the water" Mitchie pouted. After a few seconds Alex's expression softened and she finally gave in. Mitchie grabbed Alex's hand and brought her into the water, letting her slowly get used to it. But without warning an unseen rock caught Mitchie's foot sending them both into the water, both girls emitting a shriek of surprise as they fell in.

MICHAELA KATHRYNE!" Alex screeched as she stood up, she only ever used Mitchie's full name when ever she needed to emphasize her words so Mitchie would (sometimes) take her seriously.

"IM GOING TO KILL YOU!"

"No you won't" Mitchie giggled as she started running through the shallow water getting Alex to chase her. After a few minutes of chasing Mitchie down the beach Alex had managed to get her and shove her into the water.

"Gotcha back." Alex said as Mitchie stood up.

"Okay, fair enough." Mitchie said as she and Alex laced fingers as they left the water. Wrapping their towels around them Alex and Mitchie sat down in the sand with Alison and Jaiden(Everyone else had left about half an hour earlier) and they watched their kids, who were currently jumping waves together as they held hands and having a ball.

"I still can't believe she's five already." Alex commented as she rested between Mitchie's legs, Mitchie running her fingers through Alex's hair behind her.

"I know. I still remember when I first met you guys, she was only what? Seven months old." Alison commented, remembering the December day almost 5 years ago she had met up with a then 18 year old Alex and her then Seven month old daughter.

"Yeah, and Jaiden was two." Alex added.

"Wow, that's insane." Alison said

"Tell me about it." Alex said, watching her daughter giggle along with Jaiden as they tried to jump over the passing waves. As 7 o clock approached both Ariana and Jaiden came out of the water and joined their parents.

"Ready to go home sweetie?" Alex asked as she looked at her tired daughter's face. Ariana nodded and both Alex and Alison carried their children to their respective cars and after everything had been packed up. While on the drive home, Alex tried to ask her daughter if she had had a good birthday, but all that could be heard was light snores coming from the back seat.

**Hey everyone =), so I hope y'all enjoy this chapter, it was pretty fun coming up with some of the ideas.**

**Fun fact: if this were happening in real life, Alison and Alex would have met exactly a week ago**

**R&R!**


	22. Chap 21

**Chapter 21: First Day of School**

The rest of May, June and July had past like nothing, Graduation ceremonies passing and a move from the student housing to a small house just a few blocks away making time go by like nothing, and by now late August was upon the Russo-Torres's. It was about 2 weeks before Ariana began kindergarten and Alex and Mitchie were taking her out to go school supplies and school clothes shopping, something she had been very excited about since they had brought it up a few days before. With breakfast eaten and everyone dressed and ready to go Mitchie, Alex and Ariana headed over to staples to grab the school supplies.

"Do we need a cart mama?" Ariana asked as they entered the store.

"Yep, we'll need to put all the supplies in it." Alex replied as her daughter proceeded to pull one of the carts out and start pushing it. Finding the supplies was made extremely easy since there were huge bins of assorted school supplies right at the front of the store.

"Okay, first we need Pencils and pencil crayons." Alex said. Ariana darted around the bins finding the boxes of pencils first and after placing the box of pencils in the cart, she looked around for pencil crayons.

"Mama, I can't find the pencil crayons." Ariana said as she continued to look around.

"There right here honey." Mitchie said placing a 24 pack of pencil crayons into the cart.

"Oh, I didn't see them there." Ariana giggled as she continued to look around.

"You wanna pick out a pencil case?" Alex asked as she continued to look down the list.

"Okay!" Ariana replied and she dashed off over to the pencil cases. After picking out a pink plaid case she asked her mother what was next on the list.

"How about we get your scissors and glue next?" Alex suggested. Looking through the variety of scissors Ariana picked out a purple pair and then grabbed a bottle of glue then some glue sticks.

"Mommy can I get smelly markers?" Ariana asked holding up the box of the famous Mr. Sketch smelly markers. Mitchie and Alex agreed and Ariana tossed the markers into the cart with the rest of the supplies. After getting the rest of the supplies: Paper, erasers, crayons, notebooks, and folders they left the lunch box and back pack for last, since they had such a huge variety on display.

"Okay so which one do you want honey?" Alex asked as she, Mitchie and Ariana stood in front of the backpack display.

"Umm… that one…but I like that one too." Ariana commented pointing to a Hello Kitty bag then to a white and pink plaid bag.

"Which one should I get?"

"It's up to you sweetie." Mitchie said as she watched Ariana look between the two bags. After a few seconds of thinking Ariana went over to the display and picked out the white and pink bag and placed it in the cart along with its matching lunch box.

"Okay we ready to go?" Alex asked. With both her wife and daughter nodding, Alex brought the cart over to the check out and brought all the supplies to the car. They took a lunch break quickly at a nearby sushi restaurant then after everyone was full and content they headed over to Gymboree for clothes(Which they had saved for last knowing Ariana would enjoy it more than she did supplies shopping). Of course like every other time they had gone clothes shopping Ariana headed right for the dresses( she much preferred dresses and skirts over pants, totally opposite of her mother at that age) and right now she was trying on a double sleeved purple dress.

"Ari? How are we coming in there?" Alex asked after a few minutes of her daughter being in the dressing room

"It fits!" the little girl replied from the stall

"Let me see please." Alex asked. A few seconds of silence passed

"I can't come out." Ariana replied

"Why not?" Alex asked. Again, a few more seconds of silence followed before Ariana spoke

"Because I don't know how to open the door." Ariana admitted as both Alex and Mitchie tried hard not to giggle. Alex reached around and pulled it open, revealing her daughter in her new dress who just grinned at her

"Oh. Thank you." Ariana smiled as she stepped out to show her mothers the dress

"You're welcome" Alex giggled.

"Okay, that fits, now let's try on some jeans." Alex replied, Ariana's face instantly falling.

"But I don't like jeans." The little girl groaned.

"Honey, you have to get some for when it's colder outside." Alex said, Ariana giving her mother a look of displeasure as she closed the stall door and took off the dress. After trying on a few pairs of jeans and a few shirts Ariana was able to try on more dresses before they had gotten everything they needed and headed out with 6 new school outfits.

"Remember you have to wait until school starts to be able to wear your new clothes okay? We don't want them getting wrecked before school starts." Mitchie said as Ariana looked in the Gymboree bag for the 5th time on the ride home.

"Okay." Ariana agreed. After a few seconds of silence Ariana spoke.

"How much longer still school mommy?" Ariana asked.

"2 more weeks honey." Mitchie replied.

"Is 2 weeks soon?" Ariana asked.

"It's 14 days." Mitchie replied. Ariana's eyes went wide.

"14! That's a big number." The little girl commented.

"Don't worry honey, it'll be here soon." Mitchie assured her.

* * *

On the morning of September 7th, the first day of school, Ariana burst into her mother's bedroom at almost 6:30.

"First day of school! First day of school!" she chanted as she jumped onto the bed, waking her mother's up.

"What time is it?" Alex asked as she turned on her side to check her clock.

"School time!" Ariana grinned.

"Honey, you still have awhile before we have to go." Alex reminded her as she and Mitchie sat up in bed. After taking a few minutes to fully wake up and get dressed, Alex and Mitchie made their way to the kitchen before starting breakfast.

"You excited for school Ari?" Mitchie asked as she sipped on her coffee, already knowing the answer that was soon to leave her daughter's mouth.

"Yeah! Really excited." The little girl smiled as she took a fork full of scrambled eggs.

"Mama, can I wear my new clothes today?" Ariana asked, still having a bit of scrambled eggs in her mouth.

"Honey, no talking with your mouth full and yes you may." Alex replied. With her eyes lighting up Ariana finished her breakfast and headed for her room to change. After a few minutes Ariana came out of her bedroom wearing her favourite pink plaid skirt and a shirt with a charm bracelet on it, white tights and a pair of black Mary Janes .

"You look very pretty today Ari." Alex commented as her daughter came into the room.

"Thank you." Ariana smiled as she twirled and showed off her new outfit.

"You're very welcome. Do you want me to do your hair for you?" Alex asked. Ariana nodded as Alex sat down on the couch and put Ariana's hair into two low braids.

"Okay, now lets get your backpack, the bus is going to be here soon." Alex said as Ariana rushed to her room to grab her bag. Before leaving the house to go to the bus stop Alex and Mitchie took some pictures for memories and to send to their parents. And by 7:15 they were out the door and up the street. Ariana stood with her mothers and bounced with excitement as the moment she left for school drew closer and closer. Finally at 7:20 the bus pulled up and the driver opened the doors for all the other kids to get in. As Ariana gave both Mitchie and Alex a goodbye hug and kiss both girls felt tears come to their eyes.

"Bye mommy, bye mama! Love you!" Ariana called as she waved goodbye and walked up the stairs into the bus.

"Bye honey, love you too." Alex said, holding in the tears as best as she could. As Ariana climbed the stairs the bus driver smiled at her.

"Hi, I'm Ari." Ariana introduced with a big smile.

"Hello Ari, I'm Kathy." The bus driver said. After taking her seat the bus took off and Ariana waved goodbye to Mitchie and Alex through the window. After the bus had pulled away Ariana watched out the window as all the other kids came on, Chelsie and Everlie included. The three girls talked along the way, mostly debating what the first day of kindergarten was going to be like, and finally they had arrived at Tribeca Elementary. The students piled off the bus and headed inside a few minutes later when the bell had rung

"Hello everyone, can we all take a seat on the mat please?" the teacher asked. All of the kids headed over to the mat and sat down

"Thank you. My name is Ms. Ryan and I'm going to be your kindergarten teacher this year. Now tell me, are you all excited to be here?"

A few kids excitedly answered yes while others gave a mumbled no.

"Great! Now, we have so much to learn this year! We're going to learn our alphabet; we're going to work on reading and writing, counting and numbers. But we're also going to have a lot of fun while we do it all." Ms. Ryan said.

"I like fun." Ariana commented making Ms. Ryan chuckle.

"Me too, now today were going to start off with learning our letters, Can I have Ariana Russo, Abigail Summers, Aaron Madore and Addison Turner please stand up?" Ms. Ryan asked. The four children stood up as they were told.

"Now, why are Ariana, Abigail, Aaron and Addison standing up?" Ms. Ryan asked. Chelsie put up her hand

"Cause their names sound the same?" she guessed.

"Yes they do Chelsie. Their names sound the same because they all start with A." Ms. Ryan said. Chelsie smiled proudly.

"Now after this everyone is going to get a work sheet with the letter A and you have to color it all in. Sound like fun?" Ms. Ryan told the class. Everyone nodded and headed to their spots at one of the 5 tables in the class room. Ms. Ryan handed out the work sheets and right away Ariana grabbed a blue crayon and began coloring in her sheet. Just then a little curly haired girl came through the door struggling to get out of her mothers grasp.

"I don't wanna go!" The girl protested.

"Emily Rachel, that enough" Her mother said. Ariana looked over at the new girl curiously

"Who's that kid?" Ariana asked.

"Her name's Emily. She's my next door neighbour" A boy at the table replied.

Ariana watched Emily as the teacher showed her where to put her things. After a few minutes Emily sat by herself at one of the tables. Not wanting the girl to be alone, Ariana put her crayon down and headed over to her.

"Hi" Ariana said

Hi. I'm Emily" Emily said looking up at Ariana.

"I'm Ariana. But my mommy and mama call me Ari. So you can call me Ari" Ariana smiled

"Ok." Emily said, warming up to Ariana.

"Wanna help me color in my worksheet? We're doing the letter A." Ariana said

"Sure." Emily smiled as she walked over to Ariana's table and helped her color in her sheet.

* * *

Just after 12 o clock, Alex waited patiently for the bus to come around the street. She had been waiting anxiously since Mitchie had left at 9 for her job interview and so far time hadn't been on her side. Just as she was beginning to think time was playing a cruel trick on her the sound of the bus came from around the corner and the yellow vehicle parked right in front of her. Ariana was one of the first to get of the bus and right away ran over to Alex to give her a hug.

"Hey honey, you have a good first day at school?" Alex asked.

"Yeah! Kindergarten is _so_ fun!" Ariana giggled.

"Today, I was special 'cause my name starts with 'A'!"

"Oh really? You learned the letter 'A' today?" Alex asked

"Yeah! And then we colored it!" she added.

"And I made a new friend, her name's Emily."

As the two girls made their way back home Ariana talked endlessly about her first day at school, making Alex realize that her little girl was growing up, no matter how much she didn't want her to.

**Hey y'all what up? Wow, chapter 21! This is crazy, like seriously this story's just getting started and its already my longest story yet! I'm so happy y'all are enjoying it still, 21 chapters in, and I hope you stick around for the rest. **

**R&R!**


	23. Chap 22

**Chapter 22- Halloween**

The first month of school was nearly over and Halloween was just a week away. Ariana, Alex and Mitchie were up bright and early that Saturday morning so they could head out to the pumpkin patch with Alison, Chase and Jaiden to pick and carve their pumpkins, one of the many traditions between the Reid's and Russo-Torres's.

"Mama, I want braids." Ariana said as she walked over to her mother.

"Honey, you said you wanted a ponytail." Alex said. Ariana shook her head.

"Not anymore, I want braids now." The little girl said. Alex gave an exasperated sigh and told her daughter to sit down.

"Are you sure this is what you want? No more changing your hair after this." Alex said.

"Yeah, this is what I want." The 5 year old replied as Alex took out the ponytail and started working on two braids.

"Okay, done. Now let's get going, Aunt Ali and Uncle Chase are probably waiting for us." Alex said as Ariana stood up and ran to the door to get her shoes.

"You know, I felt like I served much more of a purpose when we needed to bring a billion things with us whenever we went out. Now, nothing." Mitchie said dramatically causing her wife to laugh. Mitchie's old job of having to pack the diaper bag and extra toys seemed to have disappeared once Ariana had hit 3.

"Ready!" Ariana exclaimed as she finished tying up her shoe lace and the 3 girls took the half hour drive to Benner's Farm. As they had suspected Alison, Chase and Jaiden were waiting in the parking lot just a few feet away.

"Hey, we've been waiting for you guys forever" Alison exclaimed.

"Forever? Really Ali?" Mitchie laughed.

"Okay, if you wanna get all technical about it, 10 minutes." Alison corrected herself.

"Sorry, lil miss over here decided she wanted her hair redone three times over." Alex said as Ariana just cheekily grinned.

"Well now that we're all here, lets go get our pumpkins." Alison said as the two families headed off to the patch in search of their pumpkins. The two kids headed off to the smaller pumpkins and of course like the years before Ariana was in search of the perfect pumpkin.

"How about this one Ari?" Jaiden asked showing Ariana one of the pumpkins. The kindergartener wrinkled her nose at the mis-shapped pumpkin her friend had chosen.

"No, that ones too skinny." Ariana said as she continued to look through the patch. Shrugging his shoulders Jaiden picked up the pumpkin and claimed it as his.

"Mommy, daddy I got mine!" Jaiden called out as he showed his parents the pumpkin he had chosen. Of course Alison loved it since she was all about choosing the oddballs, and Alex and Mitchie looked over at Ariana who was still in the midst of choosing her pumpkin.

"Found one yet honey?" Alex asked. The little girl looked at her mother and shook her head.

"No, not yet. All of them are funny looking." Ariana said. Alex couldn't help but laugh. It was like the first time they had come here all over again, Ariana looking over the pumpkins in search of the perfect one. After about a ten minute search Ariana had found the roundest and most perfect pumpkin in the patch and happily carried it over to her mothers.

"Found one." She smiled holding the pumpkin in her arms.

"Okay, now do we all want to go on the hay ride?" Alex asked. With everyone in agreeance, the group headed over to the truck and climbed on to the truck waiting for the hayride. As the truck drove around the patch Alex, Mitchie, Chase and Jaiden remembered the first year they had come here, when the kids were only 1 and a half and 3.

*Flashback*

"_Mommy! Cows!" Jaiden exclaimed as he pointed to the cows in the field. _

"_Yeah, cows. Look Jai there's some piggy's too." Alison said pointing them out to her son. Jaiden searched and finally saw the pigs and went just as crazy over them. _

"_Ari, you have to stay in your seat honey or else you're going to fall." Alex said as she sat her daughter down for the 3__rd__ time since the ride began, this time putting her on her lap. The little girl squirmed in her mothers arms and after a few tries broke free and began walking around again._

"_No Awi, sit down." Jaiden said taking the younger girls hand and directing her the best he could back to her seat. _

"_No down!" the little girl said as she tried her best to get out of Jaiden's grasp but failed miserably. The adults could only laugh as Ariana gave Jaiden the baby version of the death look as she continued to make her way around the back of the vehicle, the adults watching her in amusement._

_*end flashback_

"Honey, you have to sit down or else you're gunna fall and hurt yourself." Mitchie said as Ariana walked around on the back of the truck trying to find the best view.

"Don't worry I'll be careful." She assured her mother. Finally finding a good view she took her seat and watched everything pass by. The ride didn't last too long, twenty minutes tops, and after paying for the pumpkins everyone headed over to Alison and Chase's house to carve the pumpkins.

"I wanna give mine some missing teeth!" Jaiden said as he started drawing on his pumpkin the second it had all the guts removed from it.

"Mines gunna look like a vampire." Ariana said as she drew the two vampire teeth in the mouth of her pumpkin. As Mitchie and Chase helped the two kids cut out their pumpkin faces Alex and Alison worked on de-gutting their respective pumpkins. By the time the hour was done, 6 pumpkins were lined up, The Reid's first, Russo-Torres's second, and after a few pictures Alex, Mitchie and Ariana headed home to set their pumpkins out on the deck.

* * *

Just under a week later, Alex, Mitchie and Ariana were up a little earlier than usual so Ariana could get her costume on for the class Halloween party, since Halloween fell on a Saturday that year. The three girls thought long and hard about what her Halloween costume was going to be and after much deliberation the choice was made.

That year, Ariana was dressing up as Princess Rosalinda from Princess Protection Program, her favourite Disney channel movie.

At first they weren't quite sure how they'd be able to pull the costume together but after a few modifications to a Belle from beauty and the beast costume they had it.

"Honey, I still need to do your hair." Alex reminded Ariana as she tried to go and get ready to leave. Sitting in front of her mother Alex curled Ariana's hair a bit and put in one of her toy tiaras.

"There you go Princess Rosie, all done." Alex said as she turned off the curling iron. Ariana went into the bathroom quickly to check how her hair had turned out and a huge smile spread across her face.

"I love it!" Ariana exclaimed as she jumped down from the stool she was standing on. Quickly grabbing her things to head out to the bus she, Alex and Mitchie walked Ariana to the bus stop where all the kids were dressed in there costumes. As the bus pulled up to the stop Alex and Mitchie kissed Ariana goodbye and she and all the other kids got on.

"Wow, great costumes guys." Kathy commented as each of the kids took their seats. Thank you's were given and some of the kids explained how they decided on their costume on the way to the other stops. When they reached the 3rd stop Ariana waited anxiously to see Everlie and Chelsie's costumes, which turned out to be Snow White and Alice in Wonderland.

"Ari, who are you supposed to be?" Chelsie asked as she looked over Ariana's costume.

"I'm Princess Rosalinda Maria Montoya Fioré. Princess Of Costa Luna" Ariana said with a smile, proud she remembered the characters entire name.

"Oh, cool!" Chelsie said as she fixed her red bow.

"Why did snow white have to wear a bow?" the little girl huffed as she straightened the bow for the 3rd time since she had left home. The bus stopped outside Tribeca Elementary and as you looked across the school grounds there were a huge variety of different costumes: Superman, Goldilocks, Spiderman, Hulk, Iron Man, Cinderella, Dora the explorer. Even 4 boys who were dressed up as flash, who didn't seem too happy they had all chosen the same costume.

"How about we run behind each other all day so it looks like we're flash going really, really fast!" one of the boys suggested. The other three seemed to like the idea and raced around the playground until the bell rang.

"Good morning class, wow you all look amazing!" Ms. Ryan complimented as her class came in dressed in a huge variety of costumes. Attendance was quickly taken and the class party began.

"Now, first we're going to make Halloween masks to wear during the parade later." Ms. Ryan said. Ariana raised her hand.

" But princess Rosie doesn't wear a mask." The little girl piped up. Just as quickly as her words were said she remembered the last little bit of the movie where the girls were at the dance, and Rosie did in fact wear a mask.

"Oh, wait, never mind." She giggled. As Ms. Ryan handed out the supplies Ariana grabbed the yellow construction paper, the closest color there was to gold, and asked Ms. Ryan to help her cut it out like a masquerade mask. When the mask was cut out Ariana covered her mask with glue and put red sparkles on it and used two straws taped together as the holder.

"Wow Princess Rosie, that's a very nice mask." Ms. Ryan said as Ariana wore her mask.

"Thank you. I'm Rosie at the dance." The little girl said holding the mask up to her face.

"Very nice." Ms. Ryan smiled as she headed to check on the other kids. By 11 o clock all the kids were done with their masks and it was time for the school wide costume parade. The kindergarten class lined up and headed into the hall once everyone was lined up in alphabetical order. All the teachers stood in the hall and giggled and awed over all the children's costumes and masks. After the parade had been done and over with one of the boys in Ariana's class came up to her.

"Ari, if you're a princess, don't you need a prince charming?" he asked.

"Rosie does have a Prince Charming." She said.

"Who?" he asked.

"Carter" she giggled.

* * *

"Ari, you gotta calm down or else I might accidentally burn you." Alex said as her daughter fidgeted between her legs while she curled her hair. The next night Alex, Ariana and Mitchie were at the Reid's house getting ready to head out trick or treating and so far Jaiden was the only one completely ready, although not much went into his easy to prepare vampire costume.

"But I wanna go get candy." Ariana said still fidgeting in her spot.

"Well if you sit still we can go get candy faster." Alex told her. Ariana quickly stopped moving and let her mother do her job. As the last curl was done and Alex called it finished Ariana quickly shot out from her spot and grabbed her bag.

"Lets go!" Ariana exclaimed almost running out the door before anyone could even get their shoes on.

"And this is her before the candy." Mitchie commented causing the other three adults to laugh.

"Ari, wait up!" Jaiden called out as he caught up with Ariana, not wanting her to go too far by herself. After two hours of running through the neighbourhood and begging for candy, the two children and their parents headed back to the Reid's house and were settled in the living room watching _It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown _on TV, munching on a few pieces of the candy they had scored. While the children watched TV the four adults talked in the kitchen until 9 when they realized how late it was getting.

"Okay Ari, time to go." Alex said as she came into the living room. She was greeted with silence which was quickly explained when she saw the 5 and 7 year old fast asleep under the blankets they had been using on the living room floor. Picking up Ariana, Mitchie and Alex headed home while Ariana still slept in the midst of her Halloween candy crash.

**Hey y'all sorry this chap is a lil late, I was a lil busy admiring the eclipse =D**

**R&R!**


	24. Chap 23

**Chapter 23- The wobbly tooth**

"Ari, wake up sleepyhead" Alex said as she nudged her daughter awake. Ariana's eyes slowly opened and she groaned

"No" Ariana whined as she pulled the covers over her head. Alex only shook her head and giggled and tried a few more times to get her daughter up but with no success.

"Okay, I guess I have no choice but to…tickle you" Alex said starting to tickle Ariana. Ariana laughed and squirmed around and her brown curly hair was flying all over the place adding to the bed head she already had.

"Mama" she laughed as she tried to get out of the tickling frenzy.

"Ari" Alex mimicked as she picked Ariana up off the bed.

"How about some breakfast?" Alex said. It was already 6:45 and Ari had to be at the bus stop by twenty after seven.

"Okay" Ariana said rubbing her eyes as Alex put her down. Early December had just hit and Ari's class was preparing for their Christmas concert. Ms. Ryan's class was doing "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer" and that day they were making their reindeer antlers during art time.

"Morning sleepy head." Mitchie greeted as Ariana sat down at her spot and Mitchie put Ariana's plate of toast and eggs in front of her and kissed her head.

"Morning." Ariana said tiredly as she took a fork full of eggs. By the time Ariana had finished her breakfast she was live and awake and headed to her room to get dressed.

"Honey, quit playing with your tooth, it'll come out when it wants to." Alex said as Ariana played with her baby tooth that had recently became loose.

"Sorry, but it feels funny." The little girl giggled, again wiggling her tooth the best she could. After Ariana finished getting dressed Alex headed out to the bus stop with Ariana while Mitchie got ready to head to work (Alex didn't start work till later in the day, a blessing for her really)

"Okay, be a good girl okay?" Alex said as the bus pulled up.

"I will, bye mama!" Ariana said as she climbed onto the bus and took her seat. Ari sat quietly, playing with her loose tooth until Chelsie and Everlie got on the bus a few stops later.

"Ari, what are you doing?" Chelsie asked as she took her seat next to her friend.

"My tooth is loose. See?" she said as she wiggled her tooth to show her friends.

"Wow! My big brother told me that when you lose a tooth the tooth ferry comes and gives you money and takes your tooth." Chelsie said.

"And he would know, he's in the 3rd grade!"

Ariana's eyes widened. Money... for a tooth? After getting this new information Ariana began wiggling the tooth more and more in hopes of making it fall out.

"Okay class; let's start our reindeer antlers for the Christmas concert." Ms. Ryan said as the class finished their letter G worksheet. The class pulled out their scissors and Ms. Ryan handed out the green and brown pieces of construction paper. She helped her students trace both of their hands and after they were cut out they stapled the two brown hand cut outs to the green headpiece making construction paper antlers.

"Wow guys, they all look great." Ms. Ryan beamed as all the kids wore their antlers. The bell rang for recess and right away Ariana burst out the door to the playground and over to the swings.

"Jai, can you push me?" Ariana asked Jaiden (The two always took advantage of recess to play with each other) as he played on the swing just to the right from her. Hopping off his swing Jaiden pushed the younger girl until she started pumping her legs and got higher and higher.

"I can jump off from all the way up here!" the little girl said as she continued to swing, getting ready to jump off the swing.

"I wouldn't do that, you could get hurt." Jaiden said as he watched his friend prepare to jump.

" I won't get hurt. I can do it." Ariana said confidently. After picking the right moment Ariana leaped off the swing and onto the ground. The landing was almost perfect but just as she landed Ariana lost her footing thus tumbling onto the ground with a shriek of surprise. As she lifted her head she saw a small pool of blood in front of her coming from her mouth, automatically sending her into tears thinking something was wrong. Jaiden had also seen the small amount blood on the ground and rushed to get one of the supervisors that were walking around. A few minutes later Jaiden had found one of the supervisors, Becca, and brought her over to the swing set.

"Ari what happened?" Becca asked. Through tears the little girl explained how she tried to show Jaiden how she could jump off the swing but failed to successfully land.

"Let's go inside and get you cleaned up okay?" Becca said. With a slight nod Ariana (with Jaiden holding her hand as they went) headed in with Becca to the nurses office where she was checked over and the blood on her mouth cleaned up. As she placed the wet cloth on her mouth she felt a blank space. The space that held her wobbly tooth was empty.

"My tooth! It's gone!" Ariana exclaimed taking the wet cloth from her mouth and feeling the blank space. The nurse checked Ariana's mouth and saw that the tooth was indeed gone.

"Now that would explain the blood. When a baby tooth comes out too early it bleeds a lot." She explained. As Ariana got off the bed and Jaiden brought her back to class, she realized she didn't have her tooth; the tooth fairy wouldn't come if she didn't have a tooth to give her. With a slight sulk she thanked Jaiden for bringing her to class then headed into the classroom where everyone was sitting at the carpet.

"Hello Ari, I heard you had to go to the nurse's office, are you okay?" Ms. Ryan asked.

"I'm okay; I lost my tooth when I tried to jump off the swing." Ariana said, still holding the wet cloth to her mouth.

"Well I'm glad you're okay. Would you like to take a seat, we're just about to read the poem for today." Ms. Ryan said.

"In fact, I think this one fits you quite well right now."

_**Once I had a wobbly tooth  
That wobbled to and fro,  
Every time I ate my toast  
I thought the tooth would go.  
But then I ate a candy,  
A sticky toffee roll,  
Now where my wobbly tooth was  
There's nothing but a hole**_

Ariana couldn't help but giggle, it did fit her.

" I like that one!" Ariana smiled, her newly blank space in her mouth sticking out. Just before the end of the day the kindergarten class went into the gym and practiced their song for the up coming Christmas concert, antlers and all, and then it was time to head home (well Alison's house until 4:30 when Alex was off work, the latest routine since Alex had gotten a job at _Runway Fashion_ a few weeks earlier)

"Hey kiddo how was your day?" Alison asked as she and Ariana walked over to their house.

"I fell off the swing and lost my tooth at recess." Ariana said opening her mouth so Alison could see the new gap.

"Wow, did you keep the tooth? The tooth fairy pays big money for your first lost tooth." Alison told her. The 5 year olds face fell.

"No, I didn't go get it after I went to the nurse." Ariana said sadly.

"Awe, well maybe the tooth fairy will still come, you never know." Alison said.

"Maybe write her a note and tell her what happened."

Ari seemed to like the idea so when they got into the house Alison helped Ariana write a short note to the tooth fairy explaining why she didn't have a tooth with her even though she had lost it. When 2:45 arrived Alison and Ariana headed over to the bus stop to pick up Jaiden.

"Hey Ari, you okay now?" Jaiden asked remembering his friend was a little upset when he had last left her.

"Yeah I'm okay." Ariana said as the two kids and Alison made their way back to the house. For the next two hours Ariana and Jaiden played outside, making snow men and snow angels with the little bit of snow New York had just gotten over the last few days, and finally 4:30 had approached and Alex pulled up in the drive way.

"Mama, my tooth fell out!" Ariana said after she had given her mother a hug.

"Really?" Alex asked.

"Yeah! See! Ariana said opening her mouth to show her mother.

"I was swinging with Jaiden and it fell out when I fell. I didn't even feel it, I just saw the blood."

"Are you okay?" Alex asked of course becoming instantly paranoid something else besides a lost tooth had happened to her daughter when she fell.

"Yeah, I don't have my tooth though." Ariana replied.

"But Aunt Ali said I could tell the tooth fairy why I don't have my tooth and she might still come!"

"Maybe, we'll just have to see won't we?" Alex asked. Alex thanked Alison for watching Ariana and they had said their goodbyes Alex and Ariana headed home. Of course when Mitchie got home at 5 Ariana re told her story and like Alex and Alison had said she told Ari to wait and see if the tooth fairy would still come even though she didn't have a tooth. Once bed time had come and she was getting tucked in Ariana grabbed the note Alison had helped her write and put it on her night stand. A few hours later when she woke up she noticed an envelope with her name written on the front. Opening the envelope once she was fully awake, she saw there was a note along with a $5 bill.

"Mama, Mommy look!" Ariana said as she got into the kitchen.

"Whats that?" Alex asked. Ariana handed the note over.

"I don't know." Ariana admitted handing over the note to her mother.

"It's a note from the tooth fairy." Alex said, beginning to read the note.

_**Dear Ariana,**_

_**CONGRATULATIONS! You lost your first tooth! I know you don't have a tooth to give me, that's okay. I'd still like to give you a little something. Have fun spending it how ever you want**_

_**Love**_

_**The tooth fairy**_

"So she did come!" Ariana said excitedly as Alex handed her back the note.

"Yep, she did. See I told you the tooth fairy would still come." Alex smiled. Ariana took out the 5 dollar bill from the envelope and held it up proudly.

"I'm rich!" she exclaimed causing her mothers to chuckle.

**Hey everyone. Sorry this chap is so short, I tried haha. So I hope y'all are looking forward to CHRISTMAS in like 3 days! I'm pretty pumped myself :D haha**

**Oh and fyi, I miss one of my fave constant reviewers *cough cough full360-2b-me***

**R&R! **

**PS, next chap is gunna be another one of my faves :D**


	25. Chap 24

**Chapter 24- The Surprise**

Since they had skipped the last year going to the Cabin Alex, Mitchie, Chase and Alison decided that they would all go this year and spend the holidays at the cabin. It was the day of their departure and Ariana had her suitcase in tow as she waited by the front door.

"Are we going yet? I wanna get to the cabin!" the little girl said as she waited impatiently by the door with her bags.

"Just a second honey, we'll be leaving in a second." Mitchie said.

"Lex, you ready to go?"

"Yep, just a second." Alex replied. This had been the 3rd time that week she had gotten sick and she wasn't quite sure how long she could pull it off without someone finding out. As she quickly rinsed out her mouth she shook everything off and headed out into the front room.

"Okay, ready." Alex said taking her duffle bag in her hand. Mitchie twisted the door knob and the girls headed out to Alex's car and filled it up with all their stuff and took the hour and a half drive to the cabin.

"Did we bring the story?" Ariana asked making sure they had "The Night before Christmas" packed up with them.

"Yes we do, mommy put it in the bag last night." Alex replied. The rest of the ride went by quietly, of course Ariana asked several times if they were there yet but by the time they had arrived, along with Chase, Jaiden and Alison, Ariana couldn't wait to get out and play in the, most likely, new fallen snow. As Alex parked the car Ariana looked out her window and was almost ready to jump out her door and go play.

"Mommy, can we play in the snow?" Ariana asked as the car was turned off.

"Let's get everything un packed first okay?" Mitchie replied.

"Then we can go play."

With that Ariana grabbed as much as she could carry and waited by the door for either Alex or Mitchie to open the door. It didn't take long for everything to be brought in and as soon as the last thing was put on the ground Ariana and Jaiden were out of the cabin in a blink of an eye and playing in the snow.

"Jai, lets make a snow man!" Ariana exclaimed as she started making a snowball to start.

"I'll start the bottom."

"Okay, I'll do the middle." Jaiden replied as the two kids got to work. Inside, Alex was unpacking some of the clothes and putting them in the supplied dressers when Mitchie came in.

"You felling alright babe? You look a little pale" Mitchie asked noticing Alex looked a little sick.

"Don't worry. I'm fine. I'm probably just getting a cold or something" Alex assured her, hoping Mitchie would just leave it at that. As Mitchie helped Alex un-pack Alison and Chase watched the kids outside as they made their snowman.

"Jai, we need to start the head." Ariana said as she rolled the middle of the snowman on top of the bottom third.

"Okay, I'll start it." Jaiden said making a small snowball to start the head. The two children finished the head of their snow man and with Alison and Chases help, put it up and gave him a mouth, eyes and nose.

"There, Snowy's all done." Ariana smiled.

"I thought we were calling him Frosty." Jaiden said. The 5 year old shook her head at her friend.

"How many times has _that _been used before? His names Snowy." Ariana declared with her mother's infamous Alex Russo sass in her voice. After placing a scarf on Snowy and giving him a hat the two kids headed inside where Alex and Mitchie greeted them with hot chocolate. Later that night the tree was put up, everyone had a great time trimming it and Ariana and Jaiden got to be lifted and put the Angel on top. Now all the 6 had to do was wait till the 25th, and especially for the kids, it seemed a lot easier said than done.

* * *

Over the next few days everyone took part in decorating the cabin inside and out, Chase had put a few strings of Christmas lights outside and the girls and Jaiden had a blast as they decorated the inside with lights, garland and all the other decorations they had brought with them. Before anyone knew it, Christmas Eve had arrived and everyone, especially Ariana and Jaiden, were anxious for the next morning to arrive. Everyone was sitting comfortably in the living room watching "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" and already it was nearing bed time for the two children. Ariana was already asleep with her head resting on the arm rest of the couch and Jaiden's eyes were fighting to stay open.

"Come on guys, time for bed." Alex said as she and Chase picked up the two kids from the couch. Opening the door to the kids bedroom Chase and Alex let their respective children snuggle into their beds.

"So have you told Mitchie yet?" Chase asked as Jaiden let go of his father's neck. Alex just grinned, knowing Alison must have told him what was up.

"Nope, its gunna be her present tomorrow and Ari's too. Believe me it's been hard to keep it quiet." Alex replied as she covered up Ariana. Usually they would do their traditional reading of "The Night before Christmas" but since both kids were asleep they didn't want to wake them just for the sake of a tradition.

"Yeah, Alison said she had wanted to keep it quiet a little longer when she found out with Jai but she couldn't hold it anymore, which doesn't surprise me she's never been one to keep secrets for long." Chase chuckled. Alex couldn't help but laugh, Alison never was one for secrets.

"Haha, yeah. I've been holding it back for about a week now and it's been tough. But I just have to last till tomorrow morning and I can tell her." Alex replied. A few minutes later the two adults made their way downstairs where Alison and Mitchie were still watching the Grinch.

"Lex, if we ever get a dog for Christmas, we're naming him Max." Mitchie declared as Alex sat with her wife on the couch.

"I'll remember that babe." Alex giggled while Mitchie snuggled into her. Once the movie was finished and presents were put under the tree the four adults headed to bed. It felt like they had only been asleep for an hour but 6 hours later Ariana burst into the room excitedly and jumped on her mother's bed.

"Mama, Mommy wake up!" Ariana shrieked at 6:45 that morning. Mitchie had woken up but was pretending to sleep with a small grin on her face.

"Mama, mommy come on! Presents!" Ariana exclaimed as she continued to try and wake her mothers. Out of nowhere Mitchie shot up in bed and started tickling Ariana. Through Ariana's giggling Alex's eyes opened and she saw her wife tickling her daughter.

"What time is it?" Alex mumbled. Mitchie looked over at the clock.

"Almost ten to seven." Mitchie replied. Alex groaned and tried to fall back asleep but soon Mitchie made her way over to Alex and started to tickle her.

"Mitchie quit it" Alex said as she laughed harder than Ariana.

"Not till you say Michaela Torres is the sexiest woman I have ever met" Mitchie teased

"Never" Alex said through laughter.

Mitchie started tickling her even more and Alex almost fell off the bed at one point

"OK fine. Michaela Torres is the sexiest woman I have ever met" Alex said as she tried to stop laughing

With that Mitchie stopped tickling her and she pulled her up from the bed.

"Thank you" she said giving her a kiss.

"Can we go open presents now?" Ariana asked eagerly.

"Yeah. Last one down is a rotten egg" Mitchie said getting ready to run.

"Ready….Set…GO" Mitchie said and Ariana was already running down the stairs. Mitchie waited to see if Ariana would realize she didn't even start to go down the stairs but she did.

"Mommy come on" Ariana whined, eager to tear the paper off of her presents from Santa that she knew were just downstairs and under the tree.

"Yeah mommy, come on" Alex said imitating her daughter. Mitchie just rolled her eyes at her wife and giggled.

"I'm coming" Mitchie called.

"I'll meet you down there okay?" Alex said as Mitchie left the room. Right away Alex bolted for the bathroom after Mitchie was out of site and as he emptied her stomach into the toilet, she felt someone holding back her hair. As Alex lifted her head from the toilet Alison let go of Alex's hair and handed her friend her tooth brush, toothpaste and a cup full of water to rinse her mouth.

"You okay?" Alison asked as soon as Alex had rinsed out her mouth and brushed her teeth.

"Yeah, I'm good." Alex assured her friend spitting out a mouth full of water into the sink.

"You gunna tell her soon?" Alison asked, fully aware why her friend had gotten sick just moments before.

"Yeah, this morning actually. I think she's probably getting suspicious about why I've been getting sick every morning for the last week." Alex replied. Cleaning herself up and making sure there were no tell-tale signs the girls headed downstairs and giggled at the sight. Both Ariana and Jaiden were waiting eagerly in front of the tree, each with a present in hand, and were waiting for their mothers to come down so they could begin.

"You guys ready to open presents?" Alex asked.

"Yes!" both of the children exclaimed and a few minutes later the adults told them they could begin. Wrapping paper flew left and right as the kids easily made their way through the presents under the tree. The best part of the morning was when Ariana opened her biggest present which was the doll house she had asked Alex and Mitchie for quite a while ago. Alex and Mitchie couldn't help but laugh at the expression on Ariana's face when she saw the doll house, she was so happy she probably would have opened it then and there if her mothers had let her do so. But Alex told her she had to wait, even after she had tried to pull the puppy dog eyes on both Mitchie and Alex. About an hour later as the two kids played with their new Christmas presents the parents decided to then do their exchange. Mitchie had gotten Alex a GUESS purse she had been eyeing for almost a month along with a $100 gift card to GUESS. After thanking Mitchie for her presents, Alex put on her best acting face and recited the lines that had been well rehearsed.

"I really wanted to give you your present today but it's not gunna get here for a while so you'll have to wait" Alex said.

"That's fine. Can I get a hint about what it is?" Mitchie asked. Alex wanted to smirk but stopped herself before she told Mitchie her present.

"Well remember how we went to the doctors a month or so ago and were trying for a second baby?" Alex asked her.

"Lex…" Mitchie began and Alex knew she was practically begging her not to be kidding.

"Mitch, it worked. We're gunna have another baby." Alex told her and Mitchie's lips immediately met Alex's.

"Oh my god. Wait when did you find out?" Mitchie asked once they finally broke the kiss.

"Last week. They said im about 8 and half weeks along and my due dates July 28th." Alex told her. Noticing all the commotion going on by the couch Ariana decided to investigate.

"What's going on?" Ariana asked trying to figure out what she was missing.

"You're going to be a big sister soon Ari" Alex said. The little girl's eyes widened.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yep, you are." Mitchie confirmed as Ariana shrieked happily. As everyone celebrated the news Ariana and Jaiden were sitting by the Christmas tree and back to playing with their presents.

"Jaiden?" Ariana asked.

"Where do babies come from?"

"Well my mommy said that a stork brings them…." The little boy began.

**Surprise! I decided to update this one a day early(or two days late, depending on your outlook haha) so I hope y'all enjoyed this chap. See ya again tomorrow **

**R&R**


	26. Chap 25

**Chapter 25: Ari Turns 6**

The months passed by quickly and in no time Ariana's 6th birthday had arrived. This year Mitchie had offered to take care of the birthday party they were going to hold since Alex was now nearly 7 months pregnant **(yes I skipped a crap load, sorry)**. Like with Ariana, Alex pondered on whether to not to find out the gender of the baby, and eventually both Alex and Mitchie decided to find out what they were going to have.

_Flashback_

_"Alex, we have to go" Mitchie said from the other side of the door. It was near the end February and Mitchie and Alex were going to their appointment that morning to find out the gender of the baby after much deliberation about whether or not they wanted to find out._

_"I'll be out in a minute" Alex replied. She was debating on whether to wear her grey t-shirt and skinny jeans or her sweats and one of her old pull over's. Finally she decided to wear her skinny jeans and grey shirt but when she tried to step into her jeans, she couldn't get into them. She tried a few more times but nothing would work. So she threw them aside and pulled on her sweats and Grey t-shirt. She got downstairs and Mitchie noticed Alex's sweats._

_"I thought you were going to wear your skinny jeans" Mitchie said a little confused._

_"I Cant get in to them anymore" Alex pouted._

_"Hey, don't worry about it. You knew it was going to happen" Mitchie said giving Alex a quick kiss before they headed out the door and dropped off Ariana at Alison and Chase's house before they made their way over to the hospital. _

"_Alex Russo." A familiar voice called out." The two girls laced fingers as they headed into the exam room._

_"Hello Alex, Mitchie good to see you again" Dr. Robbins smiled as they entered the examination room. _

_"Good to see you too" Alex said as she got up onto the bed._

_"So you're now…16 weeks am I right?" Dr. Robbins asked, Alex nodded._

_"Well lets see how this baby's doing" Dr. Robbins said as she hooked up the ultrasound Machine and turned it on. Alex quickly changed into a hospital gown and lay down on the bed. As Dr. Robbins put the gel onto Alex stomach and placed the wand on her stomach, a blurry image filled the ultrasound machine's screen. _

"_Well there's your baby." Dr. Robbins said as she froze the screen a couple times so Alex and Mitchie could see. _

"_Now were you thinking about finding out the gender again?" Dr. Robbin's asked. Without hesitation the girls nodded. As Dr. Robbins looked at the screen and froze it once again._

"_Congratulations, looks like you'll be having a baby boy."_

_*End flashback*_

The girls were excited that they would have their daughter and a little boy, mostly because both girls wanted one of each. When they got home and told Ariana that the baby was going to be a boy she looked at her mothers and asked if the stork could bring her a sister instead of a brother, which in turn made the two girls chuckle and told her that she would have a baby brother in a few months. Now that May had approached Ariana's birthday had arrived, and to her dismay, it was occurring on a Tuesday which meant she would be spending her birthday at school. That morning after finishing breakfast Ariana reluctantly got ready for school and as she got ready to head out to the bus she let out a huff.

"Mama, do I have to go to school on my birthday?" Ariana asked as she put her bag over her shoulder as the bus came around the corner.

"Yes honey, you do." Alex said as she leaned over the best she could and gave her daughter a kiss goodbye (Mitchie offered several times to bring Ariana to the bus stop but Alex insisted she would still do it even as she "waddled like a penguin" as she put it).

"Now have a good day, I'll see you when you get home." Alex said as the bus doors opened and Ariana climbed on.

"Happy birthday Ari!" Chelsie said as she gave Ariana a hug.

"Thanks." The little girl smiled. The bus pulled up outside Tribeca Elementary Ariana, Chelsie and Everlie headed out onto the play ground and waited for the morning bell to ring.

"Oh, here's your invitations guys." Ariana said as she dug into her bag and pulled out three of the envelopes from her bag and handed them to the girls.

"This year we're going swimming then a pizza party!" Ariana exclaimed. As the girls raved over the party plans the bell rang and everyone headed into class and the announcements began.

"Good morning everyone, today is Tuesday May 3rd 2016 and today is Ariana Russo's birthday. Happy Birthday Ariana." The principal said. As the kindergarten class all wished their classmate a happy birthday the little girl only grinned at the attention she was getting. After the announcements were done the principal came in and brought Ariana her birthday book(the schools present to the birthday boy girl), which was Boomers Big Surprise, and the entire class sang her happy birthday as the principal left and headed back to his office. As the day went on Ariana found being at school on her birthday wasn't actually that bad. A lot of people wished her a happy birthday and the teacher even named her helper for the day since it was her birthday. By the time 12 had hit and Ariana had arrived home she went on All afternoon as Alex worked on her sketches for work about how her day had been at school even though she didn't want to be there for her birthday at first. Later that week when Saturday had arrived Ariana was up early that morning for her birthday party and got all of her stuff packed up 3 hours earlier than the party.

"Ari, we don't leave for a couple hours sweetie." Alex said as she saw her daughter put her swimming bag by the front door.

"You still have a while to wait."

With a dramatic sigh the 6 year old sat on the couch and Alex saw that Mitchie was running around frantically trying to get everything together. As Mitchie went into their bedroom to grab their swimming stuff Alex started packing some of the stuff into the bag Mitchie had set on the table.

"Lex, I told you I got it." Mitchie assured her wife as Alex kept trying to help Mitchie with getting stuff ready for the party.

"You just relax and I got the rest."

"But I wanna do something, its boring not doing stuff. I'm pregnant not handicapped." Alex said as she mumbled the last part.

" I know but I just wanna make sure you and the baby are okay." Mitchie said as she gave Alex a kiss. Alex softened a bit with the kiss and the 3 girls headed off to the pool a little while later. As soon as all the guests had arrived the pool all the guests were having a ball swimming around at the pool.

"Mama watch!" Ariana cried as she got ready to jump off the lowest diving board.

"I'm watching honey." Alex said as she watched her daughter launch herself off the diving board. With a shriek and a giggle Ariana landed in the water and rose to the surface a few seconds later.

"Good job honey." Alex smiled as Ariana climbed to the side of the pool to go and jump off the diving board again.

"Having fun?" Mitchie asked as she sat With Alex on the chair and wrapped her arms around her.

"Oh tons." Alex giggled sarcastically as she leaned back into her wife.

"Glad to hear it." Mitchie smiled. As the two girls watched the group of kid's splash around they sat in each other's arms contently on the pool side.

"So you think of any names yet?" Mitchie asked as she rubbed circles on Alex's pregnant belly. For the last week they had both been writing down names for their future son but they hadn't shared their lists with each other.

"A few. I like Nicholas, Tyler, Trenton and Nolan." Alex commented.

"How about Kaden or Kendal?" Mitchie asked.

"I like those. Oh and Liam and Connor." Alex replied. The girls sat there for the next few minutes watching the kids and thinking of different names. At around 2:30 the pizza had arrived and all the kids raced to the tables by the poolside and grabbed a slice of pizza.

"Mama, you want a piece?" Ariana asked as she handed Alex a plate with a piece of pizza.

"Thank you honey." Alex smiled as she gave her daughter a kiss.

"You're welcome." Ariana smiled as she went to grab her own piece of pizza. For the next twenty minutes the kids were quiet as they ate and talked amongst themselves untill all the pizza was gone.

"Okay everyone, were going to play freeze dance. Everyone find a spot on the deck and we'll get started Mitchie said as she took out the I pod deck from her bag and started her ipod.

_why would you rather be_

_anywhere else with me_

_I tell ya man its all right here_

_Check out the scenery _

_We won the lottery_

The kids danced around the deck until Mitchie stopped the music and all the kids froze in spot.

" Everlie, you won that round." Mitchie announced as the little girl shrieked happily and picked out her prize.

"Okay lets keep going."

_I tell ya man its all right here. _

_And I cant believe you'd even think_

_Of being anyplace, anyplace but right here_

_The grass maybe greener in the end I swear_

_But you'll be wishing you were here if you were there_

_Wherever we are, wherever we are_

The music stopped again and every one stopped.

"Meghan you win!" Mitchie said as she passed Meghan her prize. The game went on until everyone had won a prize then it was time for Ariana to open her presents. Again, Ariana used the bottle method to pick out what presents she would open and of course by the time present opening was done she had a whole bunch of toys and clothes.

"Okay everyone time for cake." Mitchie said as the kids gathered around the table as Mitchie lit the candles and everyone began to sing.

_Happy Birthday to you_

_Happy Birthday to you_

_Happy Birthday Ariana _

_Happy Birthday to you_

With a huge breath Ariana blew out the candles on her cake as everyone clapped while Mitchie took the cake away and gave everyone a piece which of course resulted in very hyper children.

"Race you down the water slides!" Ariana shrieked happily as she and Meghan ran up to the two waterslides to race.

"Something tells me that the thick icing on the cake was a bad idea." Mitchie said as she sat back down with her wife.

"It'll be like Halloween last year all over again." Alex giggled. As Mitchie thought back to Halloween night she cringed.

"Yeah definitely a bad idea." Mitchie replied. Finally an hour later all the kids had burned off their energy and after giving them their loot bags they all headed home and Alex, Mitchie and Ariana headed back home.

"You have fun baby?" Alex asked as she looked in the rear view mirror at her daughter in the back seat.

"Yeah, I beat Meghan and Everlie twice on the water slides!" Ariana said with a huge smile on her face. As they pulled up to the house Ariana grabbed some of the left over party stuff while Mitchie grabbed the rest. For the rest of the afternoon the girls rested untill Mitchie and Alex's parents joined them for dinner to celebrate. As Ari blew out the candle on her smaller cake Alex asked her daughter what she had wished for.

"A sister." Ariana replied. Alex just giggled and rolled her eyes. Her daughter was never gunna give up that one.

**Sorry this is so late in the night. My bad for trying to watch GLEE and write at the same time haha**

**R&R!**


	27. Chap 26

**Chapter 26- Ariana Russo Is a Kindergrad Girl**

With the end of Ariana's first school year just 3 weeks away Ms. Ryan's kindergarten class was getting ready for their kindergarten Graduation ceremony that was going to occur a week before school was out. That day the children were playing in the centers when 2 medium sized boxes were delivered to Ms. Ryan's room.

"Children, can you all come over to the carpet please?" Ms. Ryan asked as the children all met up at the large carpet in the corner of the classroom, eager to find out what was in the boxes

"What's in the box Ms. Ryan?" one of the students, a little girl named Layla, asked.

"Well how I about I let a few of you guess." Ms. Ryan replied.

"Anyone want to take a guess what's in the boxes?"

A few hands shot up eager to take a stab at guessing what was in the two large boxes.

"Is it a puppy?" Ariana asked. Ms. Ryan just chuckled.

"I don't think a puppy would need two boxes Ari." Ms. Ryan replied. The little girl pondered again and took another guess.

"_Two _puppies?" she guessed again. Ms. Ryan shook her head yet again.

"Is it books?"

"New toys?"

"I know! A basketball and basketball hoop!"

"All very good guesses but not quite. In the boxes are your graduation caps and gowns for next week's ceremony. When I call your name please come and get yours." Ms. Ryan said. Taking the piece of paper off the first box she read out the first names.

"Grant Avery"

The little boy got up and Ms. Ryan handed him his box.

"Rachel Berry"

"Chloe Brooks"

"Daniel Carter"

"Chelsie Collins."

As Chelsie sat down with her box beside Ariana she opened it and saw the small yellow cap and gown that lay in there.

"It's pretty." Ariana said as she looked at her friend's box.

"Braeden Daniels"

" Kayla Davis"

" Layla Evans"

Ariana waited anxiously for her name to be called but so far in her young mind it seemed to be taking forever for her name to be called.

"Ariana Russo." Ms. Ryan called a few minutes later. The little girl jumped up from her spot and rushed to grab her box.

"Now you can't wear this until next week okay?" Ms. Ryan said.

"We don't want it getting dirty or ruined."

"Okay. I promise I won't wear it." Ariana said as she thanked Ms. Ryan and headed back to her spot.

"Now tomorrow after recess we'll all be doing a special project together for the end of the school year so I'd like all of you to bring in a plain shirt that we can all write our names on." Ms. Ryan added. The students put their caps and gowns into their cubbies and continued on with their lesson until the end of the day. As usual at quarter to twelve the kindergarten class was dismissed and all the kids headed onto the bus home.

"Mama guess what?" Ariana said as she gave her mother a hug as she came off the bus 15 minutes later.

"We got our caps and gowns today!"

"Really? You'll have to show me how it looks when we get in." Alex said. Thinking about Ms. Ryan's words earlier about not getting the clothing dirty Ariana was about to protest and say her mom had to wait but then wondered what would be the harm in just showing her mother?

"Okay!" Ariana smiled as she and Alex reached the house. Alex helped Ariana into the gown and the little girl modeled for Alex in the kitchen.

"You look so cute honey!" Alex smiled As Ariana twirled proudly.

"I know." The little girl giggled. After she had finished modeling, Ariana placed the cap and gown back into the box until Mitchie got home in which she pulled out the box yet again to model for Mitchie. The next day all the kids in Ms. Ryan's class arrived with their plain shirts ready to be signed.

"Okay everyone we have red, black and blue markers for you to use. So choose your color and we can get started." Ms. Ryan said. After all the students had laid out their shirts on the table everyone grabbed a marker( Ariana grabbed blue since that was her absolute favourite color) and everyone made their way around the tables and signed all 20 shirts that were laid out.

"Wow everyone, your shirts look amazing!" Ms. Ryan complimented as all her students put on their newly signed shirts.

" Now, how about we practice some of our poems and songs for graduation?"

Along with receiving their diploma's and a little award the students were going to sing "Mr. Sun", and were reading " Move me on up", a poem about heading on to first grade from kindergarten, all together as a class. For the next couple days Ms. Ryan's class practiced their songs and poems for the ceremony until Wednesday had arrived. That Wednesday before Ariana headed to school Alex did Ariana's hair, a few loose curls added to her already curly hair and a clip before she put on her light pink summer dress and added out the door with her box that held her graduation gown and cap.

"I'll see you later at your ceremony okay?" Alex said giving her daughter a hug.

"Mommy too?" Ariana asked.

"Yep, mommy too." Alex confirmed. With a kiss goodbye Ariana headed on the bus. The kids of Ms. Ryan's class started getting ready at 10:30, half an hour before the ceremony was scheduled to begin. They got all dressed up in the classroom and just before the ceremony began they lined up quietly outside the primary gym (there were two gyms in the school and the primary was the smallest of the two) and waited for their cue from Ms. Ryan.

"Hello" Ms. Ryan began as she took to the microphone.

"Good morning and welcome to our kindergarten graduation ceremony for 2015- 2016." The crowd clapped and let Ms. Ryan continue

"Our students are very anxious for everything to begin so without further ado, Tribeca Elementary's kindergarten class of 2015-2016."

As the 20 students made their way out and into the gymnasium the crowd clapped and awed at the children as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Israel K played. As Ariana walked in line she searched for her mothers in the crowd and when she did find them, she waved madly to the both of them causing both Alex and Mitchie to giggle.

"Get your camera ready," Mitchie teased, but Alex was one step ahead of her.

"Already got some pictures," She grinned playfully back.

"So there."

As each of the students found their seats everyone clapped one last time before Ms. Ryan began speaking again.

" Again, welcome to our graduation ceremony. Today we will be giving each of these wonderful students their diploma's and a special little award for all their hard work this year." Ms. Ryan said.

"We'll start with Mr. Grant Avery."

The little boy stood up as the crowd clapped.

"Grant, I know you really like to play with blocks and build whole cities with them. We saw you with your little block towers and houses and buildings- you even had cars and trains running through them to make the town look real! So we're going to give you the "Future Construction worker" award! Congratulations, Grant!"

"Rachel Berry"

The list of students went fast and finally Ariana's turn had arrived.

"Ariana Russo." Ms. Ryan called out.

"That's me!" the little girl called out as she stood up. The crowd and Ms. Ryan chuckled.

"Yep, that's you! Now Ariana, from the first day Kindergarten started we noticed how much you love to being the center of attention and the one in charge so we're giving you the "I'm the leader" award! Congratulations Ari!"

"Thank you" Ariana smiled as Ms. Ryan handed Ariana her diploma and sat down once some pictures had been taken.

After all the students had been called and given their awards Ms. Ryan told the class that it was time for their poems and songs.

_Graduation, Graduation..._

_Time Is Here, Time Is Here..._

_Let's All Sing Together, Let's All Sing Together,_

_Loud and Clear! Loud and Clear! _

The audience clapped as the students began singing Mr. Sun.

_Oh Mister Sun, Sun,  
Mister Golden Sun,  
Hiding behind a tree..._

Ms. Ryan's students  
Are asking you  
To please come out  
So we can play with you

Oh Mister Sun, Sun,  
Mister Golden Sun,  
Please shine down on me!

Oh Mister Sun, Sun,  
Mister Golden Sun,  
Please shine down on me

Oh Mister Sun, Sun,  
Mister Golden Sun,  
Hiding behind a tree...

Ms. Ryan's students  
Are asking you  
To please come out  
So we can play with you

Oh Mister Sun, Sun,  
Mister Golden Sun,  
Please shine down on...  
Please shine down on...  
Please shine down on me!

Everyone loved the personal touch to the classic children's song.

"Now all the students will share their favourite memory of their first school year." Ms. Ryan said. Again they went in alphabetical order and each child stepped up to the mic and told the crowd their favourite part of the school year.

"My favourite part of kindergarten was our Halloween party and I dressed up as Flash!" Grant said with a huge smile.

" My favourite part of Kindergarten was the play we did for the school assembly." Rachel Berry said. As Ariana stepped up to the mic she smiled.

"My favourite part of kindergarten was all of it!" Ariana said with a huge smile on her face. As soon as all the students had told the crowd their favourite part of the year, the students paused to watch the slideshow Ms. Ryan had put together of all the kids baby pictures and graduation photo's they had taken a few weeks earlier. "Let Them Be Little" by Billie Dean filled the gym while the slideshow played, causing a few teary eyes in the audience.

"Hey that's me!" Ariana giggled as she saw a picture of her on her first birthday smashing into her birthday cake with a huge grin on her face, then beside it her graduation picture. The slideshow ended and after everyone had finished clapping the students stood up and waited to begin their final poem of the ceremony.

_Move me on up to the first grade_

_I've worked very hard_

_I know my letter's and numbers too_

_I follow directions and tie my own shoes_

_So move me on up to first grade_

_I want to learn even more_

_So its time I'm moving along_

_Let the first grade begin_

With huge smiles on all their faces all the kids took off their caps and threw them up in the air. The ceremony came to a close and all the children made their way over to their parents.

"Mama, mommy look!" Ariana said handing the diploma she had received along with the small poem written at the bottom of the page.

_On this, your graduation day all stand and give cheer_

_to honor you for all the work you've done to get you here._

_As we rise and give applause be sure you don't forget_

_that learning is not over as your future plans are met._

_May you always be a listener and learn from all you meet_

"Congratulations honey." Alex said giving Ariana a hug and kiss, which Mitchie of course followed.

"Now how about we go out for lunch with grandma, grandpa, papa and nana to celebrate?" Alex said knowing the class was dismissed as soon as the ceremony was over.

"Okay! Can we go to Pizza Hut?" the little girl asked.

"I really want pizza."

"Okay, we can go to pizza hut." Alex said as she took her daughter's hand on the left and Mitchie's hand on the right. As the three girls headed off to the car and Mitchie phoned the two sets of parents to inform them of the lunch plans Alex looked at her daughter and couldn't believe the little girl that was holding her hand was once a 3lb 13 oz new born just over 6 years earlier. So far time had been going by at warp speed and didn't show any signs of slowing down. And now they had their little boy on the way, who was due to arrive in just over a month, and then they'd have another baby to watch grow and thrive

And hopefully, it would be at a much slower pace.

**Hey y'all. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was pretty fun to write all the cuteness. Now the next chap you'll be happy to know will be posted early in the day since I'm babysitting new years eve and don't get any internet where I'll be.**

**R&R!**


	28. Chap 27

**Chapter 27: The Grand Entrance**

July crept up on Mitchie, Alex and Ariana and now everyone was concentrating on the arrival of the new baby. By now Ariana was a little bit more accepting of expecting a baby brother instead of the baby sister everyone knew she dearly wanted but there was still that hope in the child that she would get a little sister. It was in the middle of the night on July 12th that Alex woke up from a sharp pain shooting up her back.

"Mitchie." Alex said as she tried to wake her wife up.

"Mmmppphh." Mitchie mumbled into her pillow.

"Mitchie." Alex repeated with a little more volume and seriousness in her voice.

"Mmmppphh." Mitchie once again mumbled.

"MICHAELA!" Alex screamed her wife's full first name causing her to jump and (since she was laying so close to the edge) fall off the bed and onto the floor with a thud. Alex wanted to laugh but the pain in her abdomen was too much for her to even try to laugh.

"What? What's wrong?" Mitchie asked still half asleep.

"The baby's coming." Alex managed to say through gritted teeth. With that Mitchie jolted to life and turned on the bedroom light so she could grab some actual clothing. As Mitchie threw on a pair of joggers and a t shirt Alex had another contraction.

"Just breathe baby, breathe." Mitchie soothed as the contraction hit Alex. Finally after a few seconds Alex had relaxed and was able to stand up and get out of bed.

"Alright, ok. Let's just get you to the car." Mitchie said taking Alex's hand. They went down the stairs one step at a time, and had to stop every once and a while for Alex to wait for the contraction to pass but eventually they got to the car.

"I'll be right back." Mitchie said as she ran back into the house to wake up their daughter. Stepping into the child's room Mitchie tried to wake her daughter up but the little girl still stayed asleep.

"Ari, you have to wake up baby." Mitchie said as she took the covers off her daughter and picked her up. The little girl mumbled something about still being tired but Mitchie just threw a blanket over the little girl and headed out the door with Alex's hospital bag. With everyone buckled in Mitchie drove as fast as she could over to the hospital where Alex was quickly checked in and given a room. While the doctor checked Alex over Mitchie stood outside the room, Ariana sleeping with her head resting on Mitchie's lap, and called Alison.

"Hello?" Alison answered groggily.

"Hey Ali, its Mitchie." Mitchie said. Mitchie could hear Alison fumbling around to turn on the lamp.

"Mitch are you aware that it's….3:26 in the morning?" Alison asked becoming a bit more alert.

"Yes I am and really, really sorry for calling you so early but Alex just went into labour and Ari's still out cold." Mitchie said. Alison had promised she and Chase would watch Ariana for the night when the baby came so even though it was the middle of the night she told Mitchie she'd be there in about 15 minutes to pick her up. While Mitchie waited for Alison she brought Ariana into the hospital room with Alex until Alison showed up a few minutes later, still in her pyjama bottoms and her hair thrown into a messy ponytail.

" So how's everything going?" Alison asked as the two girls stepped outside the room. All of a sudden both girls could hear Alex screaming and swearing through yet another contraction.

"Aah, that good." Alison said.

"Yeah. Thank you so much for watching her Ali. We'll call you guys later and tell you how everything is going." Mitchie said as Alison took Ariana in her arms and headed out the door. Alison set the little girl in the back seat of the car and headed off back to the house.

"Aunt Ali?" Ariana managed to say as she began to wake up.

"Yeah sweetie?" Alison asked.

"Where's mama and mommy?"

"They're at the hospital honey, the baby's coming." Alison told her. Again Ariana fell back asleep and Alison carried the little girl into the house and since Jaiden's bed was big enough for the both of them set her in there. As Alison put Ariana in the bed the younger child inched herself closer to Jaiden until she was right beside him and didn't move for the next couple hours until she awoke.

"Morning, sleepy head." Alison said to the little girl as she made her way into the kitchen. As Alison gave Ariana her breakfast and set her up at the table the phone rang.

"Hey Mitch, any baby yet?" Alison asked.

"No, Dr. Robbins just checked Alex and she's only 4cm dilated so it might still be a while." Mitchie replied.

"How's Ari?"

"Good, she just woke up and she's eating breakfast right now." Alison reported.

"Wanna talk to her?" With a yes, Alison passed Ariana the phone after she had finished her spoon full of cereal.

"Hi mommy." The little girl said.

"Hi baby, having fun at aunt Ali's?" Mitchie asked.

"Yeah, is the baby here yet?" Ariana asked.

"No, not yet honey. It'll still be a while but I promise I'll call you when he gets here okay?" Mitchie said. On Mitchie's side Alex could be heard in the background again screaming and cussing through another painful contraction, which didn't go un-noticed by Ariana.

"I gotta go but I'll call you in a little bit." Mitchie said as she quickly said goodbye to her daughter and went to be with her wife who had finally stopped screaming.

"Aunt Ali, I think the baby's hurting mama." Ariana said, a look of concern on her face as she handed the phone back to Alison and continued to eat her breakfast.

* * *

For the next couple hours the girls waited for everything to progress but the baby seemed to want to take his sweet time before he made his grand entrance into the world. When Alex was given the choice she immediately took the chance at getting the epidural, just wanting to get rid of as much of the pain as possible. The wait seemed like an eternity but finally after 13 hours of labour, 8 and a half months of waiting Dr. Robbins finally told them the news they had been waiting to hear since nearly three thirty that morning.

"Okay Alex it looks like you are fully Dilated" Dr. Robbins said as she checked Alex over for the last time.

"I'll just get everything prepped and we can get started."

Alex nodded as Dr. Robbins left the room.

"This is it" Alex said looking up at Mitchie. Mitchie just held her wife's hand and assured her everything was going to be fine.

***Twenty minutes later***

"1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10"

Alex's head fell back on the pillow for the 6th time.

"Ok Alex we just need a few more pushes and you'll have your baby. Now on the next contraction I really want you to push ok?" Dr. Robbins told her. Alex nodded the best she could then felt another contraction and pushed as hard as she could.

"Michaela Torres I hate you!" Alex screamed as she squeezed her wife's hand tight.

"I'm sorry. I promise you'll never have to do this again if you let my hand stay intact." Mitchie said as she winced at pain shooting up her hand.

You have nothing to complain about! You're not the one squeezing something the size of a watermelon through something the size of a fucking lime!" Alex snapped. Mitchie held in her laugh at the analogy, she loved Alex but right now it seemed like one little miss-saying or step out of line and it would be off with Mitchie's head.

"Okay Alex just one more push." Dr. Robbins told her. Alex groaned and began pushing again, squeezing the life out of Mitchie's hand.

"1…2….3….4….5….6…7…8…9…10" Dr. Robbins counted as Alex's head crashed onto the pillow in exhaustion and a baby's cries filled the room.

"And here's your boy." Dr. Robbins said holding the new born boy for his mothers to see. Mitchie and Alex didn't have much time to celebrate the birth of their newborn son before Alex was suddenly crushing Mitchie's hand again.

"Is-is this supposed to hap-happen?" Alex asked as she felt another contraction hit her.

"It seems you have another one on the way." Dr. Robbins said as both Alex and Mitchie's eyes grew wide in shock.

"Alex I need you to push again." Dr. Robbins said breaking both girls out of their shocked state. After the next contraction hit her, Alex pushed again and after about 5 more minutes of pushing another cry filled the room.

"It's a girl!" Dr. Robbins said as she got Mitchie to cut the cord and then the surprise child was handed off to the nearby nurse to be checked over along with her brother. After both babies had been properly cleaned up, given a clean bill of health and brought to Alex and Mitchie the two mothers took turns trading off both babies every few minutes. As of now Alex was holding their son and Mitchie was holding their surprise little girl.

"So first you're born in a cab, then Ari's born 5 weeks early, now little miss here catches us by surprise." Mitchie said to her wife in disbelief as she held her new daughter.

"You Russo girls and your grand entrance's I tell ya." Alex just giggled and smirked.

"Hey what can I say? The Russo girls like to come in with a bang." Alex said. The room was filled with a comfortable silence for a few minutes until Mitchie spoke up.

"They're gorgeous." Mitchie said as she sat in the chair right beside Alex's bed.

"I know. They get it from you." Alex said, a small grin placed on her lips.

"No way they get it from you. And I won't let you say otherwise." Mitchie told her.

"So we know he has a name but what about her?" Alex asked as she looked at the new born girl in Mitchie's arms.

"We never really came up with any girl names."

For the next hour or so the girls contemplated names for their daughter until everyone arrived at the hospital to see the newest additions to the family (so far no one had been informed that there was two babies now instead of just one, both Mitchie and Alex wanted to keep it a surprise until everyone arrived). The first ones to arrive at the hospital were Chase, Alison and the kids. When they got into the hospital room Alison was the first to notice that both Mitchie and Alex were each holding a baby.

"Uh guys, I thought you ordered one baby, not two." Alison said quite confused at the extra baby.

"So did we." Alex chuckled.

"But clearly she had other plans."

"She? It's a girl?" Ariana asked.

"Yep, you got your sister and a brother." Alex replied causing her daughter to cheer in excitement.

"Honey, you gotta be quieter in the hospital okay? I know you're excited but it's the rules." Alex said.

"So did you guys decide on names?" Chase asked as Mitchie let him hold the baby girl and Alex let Ariana hold her brother.

"Well the baby Ari's holding is Trenton Dayden Cole Russo." Alex replied.

"And the girl we decided to name her Anna Alison Christina Russo." Mitchie finished. Alison was ecstatic that Alex and Mitchie had given their new daughter her name. After thanking the girls Alex and Mitchie asked Chase and Alison to be the god parents, which they of course accepted. As Anna was handed off to Alison, Ariana sat quietly in her chair with baby Trenton in her arms until he let out a loud cry. Mitchie grabbed her son to calm him down and Ariana looked at her mother with a very serious look on her face.

"Mommy, can we just keep Anna? Trenton's too loud."

**And there y'all have it =) chapter 27. Hope everyone enjoys this chap and I hope you all have an awesome New Year's Eve.**

**R&R!**


	29. Chap 28

**Chapter 28: Back To School**

With the birth of Trenton and Anna and their arrival home 5 days later the Russo-Torres's had quite the adjustment to make with two new babies in the house. The first night home with the twins was, as to be expected, much more work than Ariana's first night home 6 years earlier. Mitchie and Alex were lucky if they had gotten 2 hours total of sleep that night and after Anna had started crying for the 3rd time Ariana got out of bed and told Alex that she had changed her mind and wanted to bring both Anna and Trenton back to the hospital since they both caused so much noise. Over the remaining weeks of summer Ariana got more used to the noise around the house and soon summer had ended as fast as it had begun and now September 5th had arrived and Ariana was once again beginning school, this time she would be going to school full time in 1st Grade. At 6:30 Alex woke up her eldest daughter and prepared Ariana's breakfast and the twins each a bottle while Mitchie took a quick shower.

"Ari can you bring your bag down so we can check to make sure all your school supplies is in it please?" Alex asked. After finishing her bowl of cheerio's the little girl quickly got changed into her favourite purple double sleeved dress (the dress she had picked out school shopping a few weeks earlier and begged Alex to wear until the night before) and brought her new school bag down from her bedroom and let her mother check everything.

"Okay looks like everything's here." Alex confirmed as she zipped up the bag. While Mitchie Lay Anna down on her play mat and fed Trenton his bottle in the living room, Alex and Ariana got dressed to head out to the bus. The little girl tore through the closet and found the shoes she had been waiting all too patiently to wear: her brand new purple Converse that had been sitting in the closet in a box for nearly 3 weeks.

"Ari, I don't think you can wear converse with your dress." Alex giggled. The little girl merely looked up at her mother with a very Alex Russo style "and why can't I?" look on her face.

"Who said?" the little girl said with her mother's sass as she tied the left shoe tightly, showing her mother she had no desire to wear any other shoes besides her beloved converse. After her other shoe had been tied, Ariana and Alex headed out the door after saying goodbye to Mitchie and made their way over to the bus stop.

"So I'll come pick you up from the bus stop later okay?" Alex said as she gave her daughter a kiss as the bus pulled up to the stop.

"Okay, bye mama!" Ariana said as she ran onto the bus with all the other kids.

"Bye honey, love you, have fun!"

The bus doors closed and the vehicle headed off to the other stops and Alex made her way back home.

"Anna Banana what's wrong honey?" Mitchie asked as she bounced her daughter lightly in her arms trying to calm her down. As Alex closed the front door she turned the corner into the living room and saw Trenton now on the play mat and Anna crying loudly in Mitchie's arms.

"Want some help?" Alex asked her wife.

"Please, she's being crying since a few minutes after you left." Mitchie said as she handed Anna over to Alex and began watching Trenton on the mat.

"Awe, Banana it's okay." Alex cooed as she rubbed Anna's back soothingly, Anna rested comfortably upon her shoulder. After a few minutes the youngest of the Russo children had calmed down.

"There we go, all better." Alex smiled as she placed Anna by her brother on the play mat.

"Well I better get going, Anthony wanted me to come in a little early today so we could start prepping some of the food for a party of 30 that's coming in today." Mitchie said as she gave Alex a kiss before she headed upstairs to get ready. Although Alex was on maternity leave(but still working from home when she had the time while the twins were sleeping or Mitchie was watching them for a bit so Alex could have that time to concentrate) Mitchie was still on call at the restaurant whenever they needed her for special parties or events that the restaurant decided to host.

"Okay, I'll see you later babe." Mitchie said as she gave Alex a kiss and kissed the babies on the head before heading off to the restaurant.

"Guess it's just me and you guys." Alex said as she looked at her youngest children, a sense of Déjà vu from the day Mitchie had started college and she was left alone with a then 4 month old Ariana. The two babies murmured away as they lay on the mat and Alex sat beside them as she turned on the TV for some added noise.

The house was much too quiet with everyone gone, even with the twins murmuring.

* * *

"Good morning, class!" Ms. Jessica Nielsen said as all her new students piled into the classroom.

"Could everyone please find their spots at the tables?"

All the students walked around the classroom to find their spots at the 4 tables around the room. After a few minutes everyone had found their spots and Ms. Nielsen spoke again.

"Thank you everyone, and welcome to your first day of 1st grade. I'm Ms. Nielsen and I'm going to be your teacher this year. Now when I call your name for attendance I want you to tell me something fun that you did or that happened this summer." Ms. Nielsen said as she pulled out a paper containing her list of students.

"Grant Avery?"

"I went to a baseball game with my dad and my older brother Joey." The little boy said.

"Wow, that's cool. Rachel Berry?" Ms. Nielsen.

"I went to Disney World with my mommy, daddy and my sister Beth."

The list went on and finally Ariana was called.

"I got a new baby brother and a baby sister named Anna and Trenton." She said proudly.

"They're really cute, but really loud."

Ms. Nielsen giggled at Ariana's comment.

"Wow, that's so exciting Ariana." Ms. Nielsen said as she continued on with attendance. With everyone present and accounted for Ms. Nielsen started going over what the goals were for the school year and after she was done speaking, the children emptied their school supplies into their respective cubbies.

"Now who would like to go and take a quick visit to the library?" Ms. Nielsen asked after all the students had finished putting their things away. Almost every student shouted "me!" or "I do!" and Ms. Nielsen smiled.

"Okay, now were going to go line up in partners okay? The partners will be: Rachel and Grant, Raven and Brittany, Demetria and Selena, Christopher and Kyle, Ariana and Sarah, Michael and Zachary, Everlie and Chelsie, Layla and Jack, Alexis and Hannah, and Matthew and Ryan" Ms. Nielsen read out.

"Now everyone please form a line at the door and stand beside your partner"

All the kids lined up as they were told and stood beside their partner. Making their way through the halls of Tribeca Elementary the class of 1st graders headed over to the library and each group chose a book.

"How about One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish?" Ariana asked as she pulled the book off the shelf and placing her marker in the books place so she would remember where to put it back.

"Okay! My daddy read that to me last night, I like the yink who only drinks pink ink." The little girl said with a smile. As the two girls took turns reading the famous book by Dr. Seuss, Ariana had something on her mind. Why was it that most, if not all, of the kids in her class had a daddy, when she had a mama and mommy? Jaiden had a mommy and daddy, Sarah had a daddy, so did Rachel, why didn't she? Did anyone else have a mama and mommy like her? The little girl was confused for a while until Sarah had told her it was her turn to read a couple pages of their book and all her previous thoughts were pushed aside as the girls continued to read until Ms. Nielsen told them it was time to head back to class. A few minutes after they had returned from the library Recess began and of course Ariana rushed to find Jaiden on the playground.

"Jai!" Ariana squealed as she rushed up to the older boy.

"Race you to the swings!" Jaiden said as he and Ariana began running.

"I'm gunna win! I'm gunna win!" Ariana exclaimed as she ran as fast as her legs could carry her over to the swing set. Finally she landed stomach first onto the swing, launching herself slightly into the air on the swing and spreading her arms like a bird.

"I won!" she giggled triumphantly as Jaiden slowed down once he realized he had been defeated (although in all truth he had slowed down just after he and Ariana had begun racing to ensure her the victory, like he always did).

"I'll win the next one." the 3rd grader said as he began swinging. Ariana just giggled.

"That's what you said the last time." Ariana said. For the next fifteen minutes the two children caught up, they hadn't seen each other in a while since Alex and Mitchie took Ariana, Anna and Trenton to Texas for the last bit of summer vacation, and the end of recess had come.

" Do over race at lunch? This time I know I'll win." Jaiden said.

"Okay, But you know I'm gunna win." Were the last words said by Ariana as the two children parted ways to head to their separate classrooms. For the rest of the first day back at Tribeca Elementary Ms. Nielsen's first grade class just simply did some review of the things they had learned the year before, a few games that required remembering the order of the alphabet and a few counting games that all the children seemed to love, just to take the first day back a little slow, and finally the first day was over. Ariana hopped off the bus where Alex was waiting for her with Anna and Trenton in their stroller.

"Hey honey, how was your first day back at school?" Alex asked as they made the trip back to the house.

"It was fun. Ms. Nielsen's so cool and I read One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish with Sarah in the library today." The little girl said. As they made their way through the door, Ariana continued to tell her mother about how she had beaten Jaiden both at Recess and at lunch at their races to the school swing set (which again, he had let her win). At around 4:30 Mitchie made her way through the door and Ariana greeted her with a hug and once Mitchie had asked her daughter how her day back at school went, she went on once again about beating Jaiden twice even though he claimed that he would win. Later that night after dinner had been finished and Ariana had had her bath Mitchie was putting Ariana to bed while Alex checked on the twins in the room across from Ariana's.

"Mommy, how come Jaiden, Rachel and Sarah have a mommy and daddy and I have a mama and mommy?" Ariana asked once they had finished Ariana's bedtime story. Mitchie bit her lip, how exactly do you explain something like that to a 6, almost 6 and a half year old? After thinking for a moment Mitchie came up with an answer.

"Well honey, the best way I can put it now is that there are some kids who have a mommy and daddy, some of them have a mommy and mama, and some have 2 daddies. And you, Anna and Trenton are kids who just happen to have a mama and mommy" Mitchie explained.

"You'll understand a bit better when you're a little older." Mitchie assured her as she kissed her goodnight.

"Night, honey." Mitchie said as she turned off Ariana's bedroom light.

"Night, mommy." Ariana murmured as she slowly fell asleep.

**Hey y'all! So I am so not ready to start school again tomorrow haha, I like the winter, spring and summer breaks way too much to be excited to go back to prison lol. So I know Ariana asking about not having a dad is a little over due for some of you readers but I was waiting until she was a little older when it was easier to explain. **

**R&R!**


	30. Chap 29

**Chapter 29- Of Cabin Trips and Snowball Fights**

Winter had come with an ice cold bite that year just a few days before the Christmas holidays. That night Alex, Mitchie and Ariana were decorating the house a bit (but not a lot seeing as they were leaving for the cabin early the next morning) to make the house a little more festive even though they were going to be gone for most of the two week vacation. The twins sat in their excersaucer's while their mothers and older sister covered the living room in colourful decorations and played a CD full of Christmas music to fit the mood. The current song: Jingle Bell Rock.

"Ari, how about we put that one here?" Mitchie suggested as she showed her daughter where to place one of the window stickers of Santa. Finally with the Santa sticker on the window the entire house had been decorated perfectly and the Russo girls looked around and admired their work.

"What do you think guys?" Alex asked as she lifted Anna out of her excersaucer and Mitchie did the same with Trenton. The two babies gurgled and looked around the room trying to figure out exactly what was going on causing the two mothers to giggle.

"I like it!" Ariana smiled approvingly at the decorating job she and her mothers had accomplished. As Alex adjusted Anna in her arms the youngest Russo let out a yawn.

"You tired honey?" Alex asked as the small baby looked at her mother after her yawn had escaped her tiny mouth.

"Come on let's get you two to bed."

Mitchie and Alex carried the babies up into the nursery and lay them in their respective cribs. Thankfully when they had decorated the nursery they chose a gender neutral green color with a zoo animal theme so it made it easier for both a boy and girl to own the room. Anna and Trenton quickly fell asleep and Mitchie quietly closed the door to make sure that no noise was made to wake the babies up.

"Ari do you have everything packed for tomorrow?" Alex asked as she and Mitchie made it back into the living room where Ariana was currently watching a re-run episode of Hannah Montana. Ariana was usually a late packer and had a tendency to forget a few things and not realize it until it was far too late.

"Yep, When are we going tomorrow?" the little girl asked taking her eyes away from her favourite show, going to the cabin was her favourite part of the winter holidays and always became anxious to go, this year in particular since she was going to be missing the last 2 days of school before winter break.

"Probably 9 so were going to have to get up early if we want to leave on time." Alex replied. Since everyone had to wake up early Ariana was brought to bed (although there wasn't much arguing on her part since she was already feeling a little tired) and Alex and Mitchie soon headed to bed as well until the alarm clock went off at 7:15 the next morning.

"Wow, first time we got a full night's sleep in a while. Christmas miracles can happen." Alex giggled as she and Mitchie woke up. Hearing one of the twins crying for one of their mothers in the next room Mitchie went to check on the babies while Alex went to get Ariana up (a task that seemed to be getting harder as the days went on).

"Hey handsome boy, what's the matter?" Mitchie asked as she took a crying Trenton in her arms. Quickly placing him on the change table and changing his diaper the 5 month old infant quickly stopped crying.

"Here, let's let your sister sleep a little longer and you can get something to eat." Mitchie said as she brought Trenton into the kitchen where Alex already had 2 bottles out waiting for Anna and Trenton.

"Anna's still asleep upstairs, I wasn't sure if you wanted me to wake her up or not." Mitchie said as she took the bottle off the counter and started feeding Trenton.

"Kay I'll get her up in a few minutes." Alex said as she placed a bowl of Rice Krispies in front of a still very tired Ariana. The house was quite for a few minutes while everyone ate until Anna could be heard up in the nursery.

"Well good morning to you too." Alex giggled as her daughter continued to babble away once she opened the door. Alex did her best to mimic the girls babbling which in turn only made the baby girl(and her mother) giggle. When Alex had reached the bottom of the stairs Ariana, Mitchie and Trenton were already finished breakfast and Ariana was playing with Trenton on the living room carpet. Alex grinned at her daughter who, only months ago, wanted a sister far more than a brother. But it seemed that although she did love Anna, Ariana loved her baby brother more than she wanted to let on.

"Honey, we gotta get dressed so we can get going." Alex said breaking her daughters play time with her younger brother. The oldest Russo child rushed up to her room where she quickly came down in her (only) favourite pair of jeans along with her red "Winter Wonderland" shirt and carrying her bag of clothes in her hand.

"Ready!" the little girl announced as she placed her bag on the ground.

"Kay me and mommy just need to get our stuff and the twins dressed then we can go." Alex said as she finished feeding Anna her bottle and she brought Anna and Trenton upstairs to get them dressed while Mitchie grabbed the bags.

"Okay ready to go?" Mitchie asked about 15 minutes later.

"Yes!" Ariana replied after what seemed like an eternity of waiting. Opening the door Ariana helped her mother's bring everything to the car before the 5 Russo's headed off on the hour and a half long drive. The twins slept the majority of the trip but Ariana was too anxious to even think about getting some extra sleep. By the time the Russo-Torres's had arrived Alison, Chase and Jaiden were already bringing in their stuff to the cabin.

"Need any help?" Alison asked noticing her friends had their hands full with luggage and children.

"Yeah would you mind grabbing one or both of the babies from the car? We still got a few more things in the car." Mitchie said as she grabbed her and Alex's bag of clothes and one of the totes full of decorations.

"Got it." Alison said as she opened the back passenger door where Anna's car seat was placed.

"Hey baby girl." Alison cooed as she undid the seatbelt and took Anna's car seat out. Trenton began whimpering as he began to wake up from his nap and Alison set Anna's car seat on the ground quickly before she undid the seatbelt on Trenton's car seat as well and took him out of the car.

"And hello to you too handsome." Alison smiled to the little boy as she picked up Anna's car seat and brought them both inside. As Alison set the car seats on the table Mitchie and Alex grabbed the last bit of the things they had brought and Alison took Anna and Trenton out of their car seats.

"Feel better not being stuck in a seat baby boy?" Alison asked as she picked Trenton up from his car seat. The middle Russo only mustered a grin and a giggle which had Alison cracking up.

"He's such a little flirt." Alison laughed as she set her godson on the set out play mat and grabbed Anna from her car seat.

"So now that everything's un-packed, what's our first order of business boss lady?" Alison asked Alex.

"Think the kids would be up to setting up the tree in a little bit?" Alex asked. As the two mothers searched the cabin for their children they realized that Mitchie and Chase were watching them outside as they played.

"Let 'em play. We still got a while to set everything up." Alison replied as she watched her son and Ariana from the window.

"Jai come here." Ariana whispered as she watched Mitchie and Chase on the deck.

"Here, when I say 3 throw it." Ariana said handing the boy a snowball. As the two children ducked behind a nearby bush they studied their two targets, who were now searching for the hiding children.

"What if we get in trouble?" Jaiden asked with a slight worry.

"Run." The little girl said with all seriousness, knowing that there was a possibility she and her friend could get in severe trouble.

"1..2..3!" Ariana said as she and Jaiden chucked their snowballs at Mitchie and Chase, hitting them both like they had planned.

"Guys!" Mitchie shrieked as she now covered most of her neck and part of her face and jacket.

"Snowball fight!" Ariana yelled with a giggle as she tossed another snowball into the air.

"Oh it's on." Chase said as he and Mitchie left the deck and began making snowballs. The snow ball war between the two parents and children lasted a good hour and a half, the children ending up victorious, and when the four headed into the cabin they were greeted with hot chocolate to warm them up.

* * *

"Ari, Jai you wanna come put out some cookies for Santa before bed?" Mitchie asked as she took the cookies out from the cupboard.

"Okay, just a minute." The younger of the two children called as they tried to finish their game.

"Connect four! I win!" Ariana smiled as she pointed out the four red circles in a straight line. The children quickly headed into the kitchen after they cleaned up the game and picked a few cookies to set out before Alex brought them upstairs along with the twins (who were on the verge of falling asleep seeing as it was reaching nearly 9 o'clock)

"Mama where's the book?" Ariana asked as she looked around her and Jaiden's room for the book they read every Christmas eve. Alex opened one of the top dresser drawers and pulled out "The Night Before Christmas".

"Can I hold Trenton?" Ariana asked.

"You have to sit back first." Alex said as she propped Trenton in her arms so she could put him on his sister's lap. As Alex sat down with Anna in her arms and started to open the book Ariana yet again spoke up.

"Mama can I read the book this time?" Ariana questioned.

"Sure honey." Alex said as she passed the book over to her daughter.

"See Trenton? That's Santa. He's gunna bring us presents tonight." Ariana said pointing to the cover of the book with Santa Claus on the front. Opening the book Ariana began to read the book she already knew by heart.

_'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house  
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;  
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,  
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;  
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,  
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads…_

Ariana fumbled on some of the words but still over all the little girl enjoyed reading the story to her siblings, her mother and Jaiden. After Ariana had finished Alex thanked Ariana for reading the story and told the children it was time to head to bed.

"Night mama." Ariana said as Alex covered her up.

"Night Aunt Alex." Jaiden followed.

"Night guys, see you in the morning." Alex said as she headed into the next room to put the twins to bed. After half an hour neither Ariana or Jaiden were falling asleep, a huge snow storm had come in that night and the wind was extremely loud. A little scared, Ariana didn't really feel like sleeping alone

"Jaiden?" Ariana said through the darkness of the room.

"Yeah?" the little boy replied. No other words were said as Ariana climbed out of her bed and made her way over to the other side of the room where Jaiden's bed was, crawled in with him, and slowly fell asleep…until the next morning when they woke up their parent's by leaping on their bed and begging them to open the presents that awaited them just downstairs.

**Hey y'all, I'm SOOOO happy Demi won her PCA! My brother and dad were mad cause Canada lost to Russia for gold in a hockey game but at least I had a reason to celebrate huh? Haha, well I hope y'all enjoy this chap and I'm off to bed to read "Come Closer, Listen to the Story", thee most amazing fic on Demi_Selena on Livejournal =D**

**R&R!**


	31. Chap 30

**Chapter 30: Skiing, Vacations, and Little Black Dresses**

The twins first Christmas was a blast, Ariana helping her brother and sister open their presents while Alex, Mitchie, Chase and Alison watched. Now February had approached and it was just a few days before Alex and Mitchie's 2nd (or seventh depending if you count their 5 years of dating) wedding anniversary.

This year, Alex and Mitchie were spending 5 days at High Peaks Resort for their anniversary while the three kids stayed with Alison and Chase.

The idea was brought up when Mitchie asked Alex what they wanted to do for their anniversary. Since they hadn't spent any real time alone since their honeymoon (had it really been that long?) they knew this anniversary would be just the two of them, no kids(though they loved them to death), no interruptions.

"Okay so let's check everything." Alex said looking through the piles of bags at the front door. It was only 8 in the morning but even then they wouldn't be getting to the resort until 1:30 in the afternoon due to the 5 hour drive.

"We got Ari's bag over here, the twin's bags over here, then our two bags, Anna and Trenton's toys in that bag, and finally Ari's school bag." Alex finished as she looked over the 7 bags laid out before them.

" I think we're good to go."

"Now the question is how are we gunna get it all in your car?" Mitchie said as she finished getting Trenton dressed to head out.

"I think we can get it all in." Alex assured her as Ariana came down the stairs from her bedroom.

"Ari, time to start getting ready." Alex told her daughter. After everyone was dressed and ready to go the 5 Russo's headed out the door and over to Alison and Chases house.

"Need any help bringing stuff in?" Alison asked once she saw her friends pull up and start unloading things from the car.

"No there's not much to bring in so were good." Mitchie said as she carried Anna and Trenton in her arms.

"So I already gave you the Resort's number and when we get there I'll give you our room number and if worse comes to worse we'll have our cell's." Alex recited as she put down the bags and helped Alison get the twins situated in the living room.

"Alex slow down." Alison said as she grabbed her best friend's shoulders.

"Everything's gunna be fine. You and Mitch have a good time."

"Okay, Thank you again so much Ali." Alex said before she looked down at her oldest daughter.

"Be a good girl for Uncle Chase and Aunt Ali okay?" Alex said giving her daughter a kiss goodbye.

"I will, bye mama, bye mommy." The little girl called out as Alex headed to the car and she and Mitchie drove off. For the 5 hour drive to the resort the girls talked about what the plan was for the next couple days (Mitchie mainly talked since she was the one who planned out most of the trip) and by the time the girls had reached the Resort they were more than ready to just kick back and relax after such a long drive.

"Hi, welcome to High Peaks Resort, how can I help you ladies today?" the clerk at the front desk asked.

"Hi, reservation's for Russo-Torres." Mitchie replied. After searching on the computer and getting them their card keys Alex and Mitchie headed to their room.

"Oh my god." Alex said in awe as she looked around the room and set down her things on the extra bed.

"Nice right?" Mitchie smiled. She had spent a couple hours looking through countless resorts in the New York area and she knew Alex would just love High Peaks.

"It's amazing." Alex replied as she wrapped her arms around her wife's neck and gave her a kiss.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Mitchie smiled giving her wife another kiss.

"Now what should we do first?"

"Hmm... how about grab a bite to eat? I'm starving." Alex replied. Intertwining their fingers the girls headed out to the restaurant and had a quick lunch.

"You know this is the first time we've actually gotten out just the two of us since our honeymoon." Alex commented after she had finished a forkful of chicken fettuccini.

"I know, we need to have date nights more often." Mitchie replied. For most of lunch the girls just ate in a comfortable silence and when they were done lunch they had some skiing time scheduled just after 2:30. Now, neither girls had had much skiing experience; Mitchie had gone to Colorado the winter before she moved to New York and went skiing with her cousins Sarah and Arden, and Alex had gone to another New York ski lodge when she was 15 along with Justin, Max and her parents. So really the girls had only the one experience with skiing.

Needless to say, both girls were interested how the whole skiing experience would work out.

They got onto the hill and just took it easy at first, little hills here and there, and after a little while both girls had a good handle on things.

It was Mitchie, with a sly and mischievous look on her face, who directed Alex to their next destination, and instantly made her wife think that she had lost her mind.

"Mitch, we are so not going down this." Alex said once they had reached the top of the ski lift. Currently, the girls were on the highest hill (clichély named dead man's drop) and Mitchie seemed more than ready to head down the hill, totally opposite of the norm since Alex was the adventurous one and Mitchie was the calm and rational one.

"Come on Lex, it'll be fun." Mitchie assured her wife as they stood at the edge of the hill ready to head down the hill.

"Babe I love you to death, really I do, but you are crazy." Alex said as she placed her goggles on and braced herself for whatever was about to happen to her and Mitchie.

"Okay, let's go." Alex said as Mitchie's face broke out in a huge grin as Mitchie first headed down, soon followed by Alex who said a little prayer in her head before launching herself down the hill. The way down seemed to take an eternity, although the shrieking didn't help matters at all, and finally the girls reached the bottom, Mitchie's face in a huge adrenaline induced grin and Alex with a frightened how- the- hell- did- you-ever- convince- me- to- do- that look on her face.

"Wasn't that amazing?" Mitchie exclaimed once Alex had ended up at the bottom of the hill.

"Never. Again. Michaela." Alex said once she had gained her ability to speak again.

"Come on Lex it really wasn't that bad." Mitchie said as they continued their way around the mountain.

"Yes it was! They don't call it dead man's drop for no reason! We could have died!" Alex exclaimed.

"But we didn't." Mitchie said as her wife only playfully rolled her eyes at her.

"Come on, this time I promise we'll go on one of the smaller hills." Mitchie said guiding Alex over to the smaller hills.

***WITH ALISON, CHASE AND THE KIDS***

"Anna banana what's wrong?" Alison asked as her god daughter continued to cry. The little girl had been crying for the last hour and even after a diaper change, a bottle, and a few attempts of giving her, her soother, nothing seemed to be stopping the youngest Russo child from crying as loud as her lungs would let her. This had been happening the last couple days since Alex and Mitchie had left, Anna and Trenton trading off on who would have a crying fit, and clearly Anna had picked now to be her turn.

"Honey you need to calm down." Alison said as she rubbed the baby's back soothingly hoping that it would calm her down. Finally Chase had come into the door with Ariana and Jaiden from the bus.

"Hey look who it is honey." Alison said hoping that seeing her older sister would calm Anna done.

"Hey Anna." Ariana smiled at her sister which seemed to calm the baby down.

"Ari, do you and Jai wanna keep Anna and Trenton in the living room?" Alison asked as she brought Anna into the living room with Trenton.

"She's probably missing mama and mommy." Ariana said as Anna finally finished her hour long crying stint.

"Probably, mama and mommy never left her or Trenton have they?" Alison asked. Ariana shook her head as she continued to play with her younger brother and sister.

"Aunt Ali, how much longer till Mama and Mommy get back?" Ariana asked.

"3 more day's sweetie." Alison replied as she headed into the kitchen to make the kids an afterschool snack. The 6 year old sighed.

Three days was much too long.

***MITCHIE AND ALEX***

It was the night before they were due to leave and so far the anniversary trip had been a great idea. The girls went back on the slope and skied a bit more (but weren't allowed back on dead man's drop upon Alex's request) and spent their 3rd day at the resort getting pampered at the spa.

And on their last night at High Peaks Resort, they were going to enjoy a romantic dinner for two.

"Lex, you almost ready? Our reservations are at 6" Mitchie called as she finished doing her hair. Alex had been in the bathroom for the better part of an hour and so far hadn't opened the door since.

"Just a second I'm almost done." Alex replied from the other side of the door. After about 10 minutes Alex opened the bathroom and Mitchie's jaw instantly dropped. Alex was now in a strapless little black dress, her hair in curls that fell perfectly on her shoulders and her make up just added to her natural beauty.

"You like?" Alex asked as she looked at her wife who was currently drooling(which she always thought was adorable)

"Yeah, that dress looks amazing on you." Mitchie complimented as she held out her arm for Alex to take.

"Shall we?"

"We shall." Alex smiled as she linked her arm with Mitchie's and they headed off to dinner.

Now, Mitchie didn't remember all too well what she had ordered for dinner, she only remembered bits and pieces of what they had talked about over dinner (the kids mostly, but also about what had occurred over the last week and other things), and barely remembered the conversation on the way back to the room.

All she remembered was taking that all too sexy dress off her all too sexy wife the second they got back to the room.

***THE NEXT DAY***

Ariana waited patiently at the Reid's living room window as soon as she had gotten home from school. Alison told her that Alex and Mitchie would be home around 4 o'clock. The little girl continued to check the clock every couple minutes until she saw her mother's vehicle pull up in the driveway and she instantly rushed over to the door.

"Mama! Mommy!" Ariana shrieked happily as she launched herself into Alex arms.

"Hey baby, how was staying with Aunt Ali and Uncle Chase?" Alex asked as Ariana let go of her and started walking back into the house.

"It was fun!" the little girl smiled as she started telling her mother's all about how the last couple of days had gone.

"Hey you two, how was the trip?" Alison asked as she carried Trenton in her arms and Anna played with Jaiden in the living room.

"It was great, although I swear my oh so wonderful wife had gone coo coo for coco puffs when we went down dead man's drop." Alex replied taking her son in her arms.

"Hey, you had fun." Mitchie said as she went to pick up Anna.

"If by fun you mean screamed my head off and kept asking to not be killed by a hill over and over again in my head then yeah I had loads of fun babe." Alex replied.

**Hey everyone =) we'll for those of y'all who were wanting some Alex/Mitchie time I hope this satisfied ya, I kinda like it but really it's for you, the readers, to enjoy!**

**R&R!**


	32. Chap 31

**Chapter 31: Lucky Number 7**

After their vacation was done, Alex and Mitchie quickly got back into the routine of things and by now almost three months had passed and now it was May 2nd, the night before Ariana's 7th birthday. Again, Ariana would be spending it at school but she didn`t seem to as much this year considering all the attention she had gotten last year.

"So honey, did you figure out what you want to do for your birthday this weekend?" Alex asked once she had put Anna and Trenton to bed.

"Could I have a sleepover party?" Ariana asked. Ariana had recently gotten into staying over at her friend's houses every once in a while so it wasn't a surprise that the little girl wanted a sleepover party

"Okay but just a few people, 4 at the most." Alex replied thinking about how much damage a house of 6 turning 7 year olds could do. After Ariana gave her mother the list of people she wanted to invite they both worked on the invitations until she had to go to bed. The next morning when 6:30 had arrived Ariana was greeted with happy birthdays from both her mother's and Mitchie had gotten up early so she could make a special breakfast of pancakes, sausages and scrambled eggs.

"So do you have your invitations in your bag honey?" Alex asked as she finished off her breakfast.

* * *

"Yep, Are Aunt Ali, Uncle Chase and Jaiden still coming over for dinner?" Ariana asked. Although Jaiden wouldn't be attending the party ( Alex and Alison talked about the party on the phone the night before and agreed that Jaiden wouldn't be up to spending a whole night with a bunch of girls) he and his parents would still be attending Ariana's birthday dinner that night.

"Yep, him, Aunt Ali and Uncle Chase are coming over for dinner at 5" Alex replied as she finished packing Ariana's lunch box and placed it in her bag.

"Now let's get changed birthday girl, you're gunna miss the bus." Alex said as she rushed her daughter upstairs so she could get dressed and head out to the bus. After picking out her favourite Denim skirt, a light pink shirt and her pink converse ( even at 7 years old she had quite the collection of her mother's old favourite brand of shoes) Alex brought her daughter over to the bus where her friends from class wished her a happy birthday as she got in line with them until the bus arrived.

"Happy Birthday Ari!" Chelsie exclaimed as she gave her friend a hug the second she stepped foot on the bus.

"Thanks, oh here's your invitation." Ariana said as she reached into her bag and pulled out her home made invitations that Alex and Mitchie had helped her make the night before.

"Thanks, you're having a sleepover party?" Chelsie asked.

"Yeah, mama said I was only allowed inviting four people though so I invited you, Tory, Emily and Rachel." Ariana replied. The bus pulled up outside Tribeca Elementary and once again Ariana was greeted with "Happy Birthday" 's galore, even more once her birthday had been announced over the PA during the morning announcements. The morning went by fairly fast, Ms. Nielsen's first grade class was getting ready to do their end of school play, Peter Pan (Ariana had been cast as Tinkerbell and was extremely excited to dress up as the famous Disney fairy) so the better part of the morning was spent rehearsing for the play. Once recess had hit Ariana rushed over to the swings where she always met Jaiden to play

"Hey Ari, Happy Birthday." Jaiden said giving his friend a hug.

"Thanks." The younger girl smiled as she and Jaiden played on the swings and competed to see who would get the highest on the swing. By the time the bell rang, Jaiden had come out the winner and both children headed inside and back to class, where it was Ariana and Grant's turn for show and Share.

"So Ariana, what did you bring for show and tell today?" Ms. Nielsen asked her. Getting up from her seat Ariana grabbed the frame with a picture from her backpack

"It's a picture of me, my mommy and mama on my 1st birthday." Ariana said.

"I guess I liked my cake 'cause I got frosting all over my face." She added with a giggle. Everyone looked at the photo and indeed the picture showed a cake covered Ariana sitting in her highchair between a smiling Alex and Mitchie. The photo had been found a few days earlier while Mitchie was looking through one of their boxes and it was in with a bunch of other pictures they had gotten printed off for Ariana's baby book. Since Ariana still needed something for her show and tell Mitchie found a good frame to put the picture in and called it done.

"What about your daddy?" one boy asked. Without skipping a beat the little girl answered her classmate's question.

"My mommy said that sometimes kids have a mommy and a daddy, 2 mommies or 2 daddies." Ariana replied remembering when she asked Mitchie about why she didn't have a dad.

"And I like having 2 mommies better."

"Well thank you Ari for sharing that with us." Ms. Nielsen smiled as the little girl sat down with the picture in her lap.

"You're welcome." The little girl smiled as Grant went up and showed the class his newest Bionicle that he had gotten from his parents. Show and Share was done and the kids worked on some math and did a spelling test quickly before lunch had arrived. By the time the school day was done Ariana had handed out her invitations for her much anticipated sleepover party, won a couple rounds of who can swing higher with Jaiden, and had been sung Happy Birthday by her entire class while she got her birthday book(which was her favourite Dr. Seuss Book, Green Eggs and Ham)

" Hey honey how was your day?" Alex asked as she and Ariana walked back to the house with the twins.

"It was fun, I got Green Eggs and Ham as my birthday book." The little girl said as she opened her bag and showed her mother the book.

"Really? We should read this tonight to Trenton and Anna as a bedtime story." Alex said handing her daughter her book. As soon as Mitchie got home she quickly started on dinner (upon the birthday girls request, hamburgers and hotdogs on the barbeque) and at 5 o'clock Theresa and Jerry were the first to arrive for their granddaughter's birthday dinner, soon followed by Connie and Steve then Chase, Alison and Jaiden.

"Hey Ali, oh my gosh you've gotten so big!" Alex exclaimed as she placed her hand over her friends almost 5 month pregnant stomach. Yes, just a few weeks after Alex and Mitchie's anniversary vacation Alison and Chase found out they were expecting their second child, but insisted on keeping it a surprise this time since they found out what they were having with Jaiden. At first Jaiden was like Ariana, a little weary about having a new sibling, but now seemed to be warming up to the idea as the days progressed.

"Have you guys thought of any names?" Mitchie asked as she took a quick break from flipping burgers out on the deck to say hi to all the guests.

"Well if it's a boy we're naming him Zachary James and if it's a girl we're naming her Caitlin Christina." Alison replied.

"Awe those are so cute." Both Alex and Mitchie gushed. Finally the burgers and hot dogs were done and all the guests sat down to eat. Mitchie and Alex's parents asked their granddaughter how her birthday had been so far and the little girl told them all about her day at school, including when she had beat Jaiden on the swings which he shot back with that he let her win since it was her birthday. After dinner the Russo's, Torres's and Reid's relaxed for a bit before Mitchie brought out Ariana's cake and lit the candles as everyone sang

_**Happy Birthday to you**_

_**Happy Birthday to you**_

_**Happy Birthday dear Ari**_

_**Happy birthday to you**_

Everyone clapped as the now 7 year old blew out her candles and smiled wide for everyone who was taking pictures. Alex had her camera out and was taking shot after shot between feeding Anna her dinner and Mitchie fed Trenton. Everyone enjoyed the cake( even the twins who were only fed a small piece) and after Ariana had opened her presents from her grandparents and aunt and uncle everyone stayed to chat for a bit before heading home.

* * *

Friday night had arrived and Alex, Mitchie and Ariana had just finished laying out the rest of the food for Ariana's party in just a few hours. By now Ariana was more than ready for all her friends to come over and at 5:30 the first guest arrived.

"Rachel!" Ariana exclaimed as she brought the girl in for a hug.

"Happy Birthday." Rachel smiled as she handed Ariana her present.

"Thank you, come on all the food and stuffs in here." Ariana said as she brought Rachel into the kitchen and told her to help herself to the food. Within the next half hour the rest of Ariana's friends had arrived and now the girls were sitting at the table enjoying some pizza and chips.

"So far so good, nothing's been broken, no ones bouncing off the walls, not bad for a first sleepover party." Mitchie said to her wife as they stood in the kitchen watching over the children at the table.

If only Mitchie knew that she had just totally jinxed the party.

It started once Ariana had finished opening presents, Ariana had gotten a brand new Barbie and insisted on bringing it to the table once Alex had called the girls down for cake. Alex told her daughter to put her doll somewhere else besides the table so Ariana placed it on the coffee table in the living room. Ariana picked the wrong spot to put her Barbie down because as soon as little Anna crawled over and grabbed it everything went downhill. Emily and Arian were the last to finish their cake and Right away Ariana went in search of her Barbie. But it was nowhere to be found.

"Mommy have you seen my Barbie?" Ariana asked. Mitchie had told her she hadn't seen the doll so she continued searching. A few seconds later Ariana saw that it was in baby Anna's hands and gasped.

"ANNA!" Ariana shrieked causing Anna to cry. In the short amount of time Anna had the Barbie she had managed to take off the head and chew part of the little nub that kept the dolls head intact ,making it impossible to fix.

"Ariana what happened?" Alex asked as she picked up Anna and tried to get her to stop crying.

"She wrecked the new Barbie Emily got me." Ariana pouted pointing to the baby who was now playing with one of her toys.

"And now my Barbie has no head!"

Ariana stomped upstairs and shut her door, Emily following her all the way.

"You okay Ari?" Emily asked.

"I hate little sisters." Ariana sulked. Eventually Alex had calmed her daughter down enough so she had forgiven her little sister and now all the girls seemed to want another piece of cake

So far, something had been broken, now came the bouncing off the walls.

" Not it!" Tory shrieked as she, Ariana and the other guests ran around in the backyard playing tag(a request made by Alex and Mitchie once they realized how high all the girls energy levels were after just one more slice of marble cake each).

"Ari's it!" all four guests called out as they giggled and ran around the yard. The birthday girl laughed hysterically as she raced around the yard trying to catch one of her friends so she wouldn't be it anymore.

"Ha! Chelsie's it!" Ariana exclaimed as she ran as fast as she could so she wouldn't get caught. The game of tag went on for another hour until Mitchie and Alex called the girls in and the 5 7 year olds swore they would make it to midnight they had so much energy.

Apparently that night, midnight meant just before ten once all 5 girls crashed from their sugar induced energy high

**Hey y'all, so since I have nothing really to write here I'll leave you 2 fun facts about this story**

**Ariana was originally just going to have a brother named Kendal, but that was when the story wasn't going to have a sequel, then once the sequel came, Ariana was going to have 2 sisters, named Callie(like from Grey's Anatomy) and Dylan(what Demi Lovato would have been named if she were a boy)**

**Alison, Chase and Jaiden weren't actually going to be a part of the story, I came up with the idea of adding them in while I was on the road and watching the "Mine" Music video, and obviously I used Taylor Swifts middle name as Alison's first name, though her first name was originally Emily and Jaiden was a girl named Sarah. **

**Just thought y'all'd like to know =D**

**R&R**


	33. Chap 32

**Chapter 32: The Twins Turn One**

With the arrival of summer Alex and Mitchie knew this would be a fun, jam packed summer. First on their summer to-do list was the twins first birthday, then they were taking their first road trip as a family down to Texas for their annual vacation(a little earlier than the years before), and finally they were attending Justin's wedding just near the end of august, where Ariana had been chosen to be the flower girl.

That day, July 12th 2017, Anna Alison Christina Russo and Trenton Dayden Cole Russo turned a year old.

Contrary to Alex's wish the twins first year seemed to go by faster than Ariana's first year ever did. She remembered the first night both the twins were brought home (Anna had to stay a few extra nights after having a slight problem with her breathing) and Ariana looked at her with all seriousness the next morning and insist she bring both her brother and sister back for quieter babies. Now, here they were a year old and Alex still felt like time was going much too fast for her liking. As Mitchie went upstairs to wake her son and youngest daughter up from their afternoon nap she found that Anna was already up and playing in her crib, babbling away as her twin brother slept just across the room.

"Hey Miss Banana, ready for your birthday party?" Mitchie asked giving her smiling daughter a kiss before bringing her downstairs to play with her older sister and headed back to the nursery to grab Trenton. With both twins downstairs Mitchie placed the kids into their exersaucer's as she and Alex finished decorating the living room full of Cookie Monster and Elmo, the chosen theme even though at first they wanted a prince and princess theme similar to Ariana's first birthday. The party wasn't going to be huge, just family and the Reid's like Ariana's first birthday had been, but none the less Alex and Mitchie were excited to celebrate the twins 1st birthday with everyone.

"Ari, do you wanna get all the plates and cups out? They should be in one of the bags on the counter." Alex said as she and Mitchie twisted red and blue streamers together to place around the living room. The little girl headed into the kitchen and got the bag from Party Plaza and started distributing the cups and plates around the table.

"Okay done!" Ariana said as she finished her assigned job.

"Thank you honey, want to help me get the babies dressed for the party?" Alex asked. Following her mother upstairs with the twins Ariana helped get Anna dressed (which proved very difficult seeing as she was an extremely squirmy baby) while Alex worked on Trenton. For the party Trenton was wearing a blue onesie with cookie monsters face on it along with a pair of blue jeans, and Anna was wearing a red onesie with Elmo's face on it and a red tutu.

"Anna you gotta quit squirming honey." Alex said once she tried to get Anna's hair into at least one ponytail out of the two she had wanted, although with the amount Anna was wriggling around they'd be lucky to get one in.

"Okay there you go." Alex said once she had twisted the red elastic around her daughter's small amount of hair. After both twins were fully dressed and ready they were brought downstairs where all the guests were beginning to arrive.

"Hey mom, hey dad!" Alex smiled as she gave each of her parents a hug as she held Anna in her arms.

"Hi honey, oh Anna don't you look adorable!" Theresa cooed at her youngest granddaughter causing her to grin and hide bashfully in her mother's shoulder.

"She kept on squirming while I was trying to do her hair; I swear she's giving Ari a run for her money in the squirmiest baby award." Alex commented causing her parents to laugh.

"Grandma! Grandpa!" Ariana shrieked as she saw her grandparents at the door and gave them each a hug.

"Hi honey, you look very pretty today Ari." Theresa smiled as she saw her oldest granddaughter dressed in a blue and red dress to suit the colors of the party.

"Thank you, mama helped me pick it out." The little girl said. As the other guests arrived Alex and Mitchie made their way around and said hi to everyone and all the guests got to hold the birthday boy or girl at one point or another. As soon as Alison, Chase and Jaiden had arrived Ariana quickly greeted them and got Jaiden to play with her while everyone was playing or paying attention to the twins.

"Hey babe, you need help with anything?" Alex asked once she saw how fast Mitchie was running around in the kitchen getting all the food ready. 

"No, I'm good. The last stuff is just finishing up but if you want to put some of the food on the trays I wouldn't say no." Mitchie said handing Alex one of the trays and helping her load it with sandwiches before bringing it out to everyone.

"Ma!" Alex heard from the ground as she placed the tray of sandwiches on the set up table.

"Hey handsome." Alex smiled as she picked up Trenton and gave him a kiss.

"Having fun?"

Alex carried her son around a bit before she decided to sit down with her cousin Pricilla.

"So how did you come up with the names Trenton and Anna?" Pricilla asked. For some reason she had always had a fascination with names and never really heard the story from her cousin.

"Well Trenton and Cole are Mitchie's old friend's first and last name, they seemed to go well and Dayden was kind of a combination of Dylan and Kaden since we liked both of those names and couldn't choose which one to use so we mashed them together. Then Anna's we really had to think of last minute since we weren't even expecting her but within 10 minutes we had it narrowed down to either Anna or Leah and she seemed more of an Anna then Alison is after our friend and Christina is Mitchie's sister's middle name so we figured since Trenton's name had a lot of history to it we should do the same for her." Alex replied. The two cousins spent the next few minutes catching up until Mitchie had brought out the last bit of food and everyone rushed over to grab something to eat. After everyone had finished eating it was time for the twins to open their presents and Alex and Mitchie sat on the living room carpet, Alex with Trenton in her lap and Anna sitting comfortably in Mitchie's while Alison sat in a chair ready to read out the cards.

_To a sweet little boy who's turning one_

_Hope your first birthday _

_Is filled with lots of fun_

_Happy Birthday!_

_From Grandma and Grandpa_

Trenton played with the paper on his gift before Alex gave him a hand and it was a little plush tool set complete with a hammer, saw, screw driver and belt. After Anna had opened her present they continued on, now choosing Anna to be the first one to open a present.

_To a very special girl_

_On her very special day_

_Hope that your birthday_

_Is great in every single way_

_Happy Birthday one year old!_

_Love Aunt Ali, Uncle Chase and Jaiden_

Anna patted the box until the wrapping paper was torn through and began playing with the paper until a ballerina dressed teddy bear was reviled, and Trenton got the same bear but dressed as a baseball player.

_Hip Hip Horray_

_Hip Hip Horray_

_A special boy is one today!_

_Happy Birthday!_

_Love Uncle Max_

Now having fun with tearing off the paper Trenton giggled as Alex helped him take off the wrapping paper and showed him the Little People Animal Sounds Farm and after Anna had opened her present from Max (a baby's first birthday set that had musical and squeaky toys, party hats, and other presents in a plush cake holder) the twins spent the next twenty minutes opening the remainder of their presents and while everyone else ate some snacks the kids played in the living room. Checking the time and knowing that the twins would soon be getting tired Alex called everyone over for cake and Mitchie handed her the small cookie monster head cake and placed it on Trenton's high chair table as everyone sang

_Happy birthday to you _

_Happy Birthday to you_

_Happy birthday dear Trenton_

_Happy birthday to you_

The little boy grinned as his cookie monster smash cake was placed before him and Mitchie quickly handed off the Elmo cake to her wife and Alex went over to Anna's high chair and placed her cake in front of her, but had to pull it back a bit once Anna tried to reach for it before Alex put it down.

_Happy birthday to you _

_Happy Birthday to you_

_Happy birthday dear Anna_

_Happy birthday to you_

Anna shrieked happily as her cake was finally placed in front of her, not even waiting for everyone to clap before sticking her hands right into the cake while all the guests laughed and watched in amusement as the twins destroyed their smash cakes and became red and blue messes.

"I'm not even sure who's covered in icing more, Anna or Trenton." Alex laughed as she and Mitchie watched their two kids happily destroy their cakes, making sure to get more than enough pictures for their baby books.

"Looks like Anna's winning that one." Mitchie replied looking over at her son who had icing covering most of his face and hands then over to her daughter whose face was coated in icing. Once the cakes were taken away and the twins were given a quick bath to get all the icing off of them all of the guests left and headed home just in time for the birthday boy and girl to head to bed.

"Well that went pretty well." Mitchie said as she placed Trenton into his crib and gave him a kiss goodnight while Alex did the same with Anna.

"Yeah, I say it was a success. Looked like they loved the cake at the very least." Alex laughed as she and Mitchie closed the door to the nursery and headed downstairs where Ariana was watching the last little bit of Princess Protection Program. It was just as General Kane arrived at the School Dance when Ariana's eyes were fighting to stay open, showing how tired she was.

"Wanna go to bed sweetie?" Alex asked. The little girl shook her head.

"I wanna see how it ends." She replied

"Honey you've seen this movie before, you know how it ends." Alex giggled as she picked up her daughter and brought her up to bed where she fell asleep before her head even hit her pillow. Alex joined Mitchie back on the couch and cuddled into her wife with a dramatic sigh.

"They're one Mitch." Alex said in disbelief as she rested her head in the crook of Mitchie's neck.

"And Ari's 7." Mitchie added.

"I feel old."

"Alex you are not old, you're only 25, if you're calling yourself old now what will you be calling yourself in 5 years when you turn 30?" Mitchie said as she playfully rolled her eyes at her wife. Without skipping a beat Alex had her answer.

"Ancient?" Alex jokingly guessed as Mitchie laughed and wrapped her arms around her

**Hey everyone! So for everyone who's a fan of all the Ariana/Jaiden(come up with a couple name if you want, I'm actually trying to think of one for the later chapters so suggestions are welcomed haha) cuteness, you're gunna love next chap =)**

**Oh and here's another fact about this story just for the heck of it**

**This story, actually started out as an Alex/Nate fic (I had the idea for quite a while just sitting on my computer) and then one day during the summer I changed it to Alex/Mitchie and BAM! LATP!**

**R&R**


	34. Chap 33

**Chapter 33: Ari's Song (Oh My My My) pt 1**

"Mama, are we going yet?" Ariana asked as she threw on a thin sweater on top of her purple shirt. It was the night before school was going to start and the Russo-Torres' were heading over to the Reid's for a summer end barbeque. The girls and Trenton had just gotten back from Justin's wedding in California the day before and they were more than excited to see their friends again after being gone for 2 weeks.

"Just as soon as I finish getting Trenton ready." Alex replied as she put Trenton's shoe on.

"Okay good to go." Alex smiled as she picked up her son and she, Mitchie, Ariana and Anna headed out to the car and made their way over to the Reid's house.

"Hey guys!" Alison smiled as she gave her friends a hug the best she could with her 8, almost 9 month pregnant stomach in the way.

"Hey, gosh that baby's still in there?" Alex asked looking at her friend's large stomach.

"Yes, the doctor said if he or she's not here in two weeks they're inducing, which will be a godsend since I haven't gotten a comfortable night's sleep in almost 3 months." Alison complained as the girls made their way into the house and headed to the backyard where Jaiden was hanging out with a couple of his friends (he was allowed inviting a few people for the barbeque including the Russo-Torres') and Ariana joined them.

_**She said, 'I was seven and you were nine**_

_**I looked at you like the stars that shined**_

_**In the sky, the pretty lights'**_

"Hey Jai" Ariana smiled at the boy as she joined the group of five in the backyard, not entirely thrilled that she and Jaiden weren't alone but she was willing to deal with it.

"Jai, who's this?" one of the boys, Christopher, asked.

"This is Ari. Ari this is Chris, Adam, Dylan and Tyler" Jaiden introduced. Ariana waved at the boys.

"Can I play with you guys?" Ariana asked noticing the boys were just playing a game of soccer.

"Sure you can be on Dylan and Chris's team." Jaiden said not asking anyone if it was okay that his friend joined (not like it would matter anyway she was going to end up playing whether they liked it or not) as he tossed the ball over and the game started.

_**'And your daddy used to joke about the two of us**_

_**Growing up and falling in love**_

_**And our momma's smiled and rolled their eyes'**_

_**And said, 'Oh, my, my, my'**_

"So when do you think Ari and Jai's wedding's gunna be?" Chase teased as he flipped one of the burgers on the grill and watched his son with Ariana and his friends. The three girls just rolled their eyes at their friend and husband jokingly.

"Really?" Alison asked her husband in all seriousness. Chase just nodded.

"Yeah, you guys have never seen it?" Chase asked, surprised that the girls (especially his wife who was obsessed with the topic of love and people falling in love) never saw the idea of Ariana and Jaiden together. The girls shook their heads. Sure they knew the two children were close, they had been since they met nearly 7 years ago, but never really thought of them in a relationship when they were older, since they were still only children after all. But now that they thought of it, it really seemed like a possibility, they were very protective of each other, Jaiden had actually been called to the office once and was told not to hurt or threaten the other kids just because they had been picking on Ariana, and when they were together it took a lot to actually get them to separate from one another. They saw the way that Ariana and Jaiden interacted and couldn't help but crack a smile more than they usually did at the two children. As the children played in the yard the adults watched them, specifically Ari and Jaiden.

_**Take me back to the house in the backyard trees**_

_**Said you would beat me up, you were bigger than me**_

_**You never did, you never did**_

"Ari, come on take the shot!" Christopher called out as the little girl raced up the yard with the soccer ball. With a giggle Ariana stopped just in front of the net they had set up and took her shot, causing Jaiden(who was in net) to jump to the side as fast as he could to try and stop the ball but failed and the ball hit the back of the net with a slight force.

"Two- Nothing!" Ariana squealed happily as her team mates gave her a high five for her goal. Jaiden, who could be a sore loser most of the time, got a little mad over his friends (supposed) gloating.

"I let you have that one." Jaiden insisted as he tossed the ball back to the younger girl.

"Come on Jai, it was just one goal." Ariana said as she rolled her eyes at Jaiden's behaviour.

"Don't be such a baby."

"I'm not a baby!" the older boy exclaimed with anger in his voice.

"Well your being one." Ariana said with a glare on her face. Jaiden balled his hand in a fist and Ariana quickly took notice.

"Hit me, I dare you." Ariana said knowing that's what Jaiden wanted to do. After a few seconds then realizing he didn't really want to hit the younger girl the boy's expression softened and he lit his fist relax and fall

"I knew you wouldn't do it." Ariana smirked causing Jaiden to get slightly angry again.

"Let's just keep playing." He muttered as he headed back in net. Ariana wore a confidant smile as she placed the ball at center and the game resumed.

_**Take me back when our world was one block wide**_

_**I dared you to kiss me and ran when you tried**_

Right after the kids and parents had finished dinner the kids continued on with their soccer game, Ariana's team winning now 3 -1, and right now Ariana was rushing down the yard to the net (Adam and Jaiden had traded spots so now Adam was in net) and Jaiden was trying to get the ball from Ariana but ended up accidentally tripping her sending her to the ground and causing her to scrape her knee. Ari was pretty tough for being such a girly girl and not at all a tomboy so the scrape didn't feel like much to her but a plan quickly formed in her head and she started to fake cry.

"Ari are you okay?" Jaiden asked. Alex heard her daughter crying and got a little scared but just by looking at her and hearing the cry she could tell she was faking (Ariana had become a pro at fake crying that sometimes even Alex couldn't decipher the difference between the two) so she and the other three parents watched in amusement as the little girl continued to put on a show.

"My knee!" the little girl sobbed out as Jaiden looked at her knee, which wasn't all that scraped.

"Kiss it better?" the little girl sniffled with puppy dog eyes as Jaiden looked at her, contemplating whether or not to go through with the younger girl's request. Just as he leaned his head down to do as the girl asked Ariana let out a mischievous giggle as she jumped off the ground and rushed down the field and took her shot which again went in.

"You cheated!" Jaiden accused.

"No, i used a clever plan." Ariana shot back as she handed the ball back to Jaiden.

"Let's keep playing!" the little girl giggled playing off like her little act was nothing more than smart strategy.

_**Just two kids, you and I, **_

_**oh, my, my, my, my**_

**Hey everyone, sorry this chap is like just over three quarters of the length they usually are but I thought this was a decent size for what was going on.**

**Again, here's another fact about this story**

**At first, Ariana was going to be a cab 804 baby like her mother, but I thought her being born premature would be a better twist.**

**And those of you wanting drama, get ready, I'm thinking of adding some un planned drama within the next few chaps.**

**R&R**


	35. Chap 34

**Chapter 34: **

So far September seemed to be going by at a fairly quick pace, Alex had headed back to work at _Runway Fashion_ and the twins stayed with Alison most of the days while Chase was at work. That Saturday, September 23rd, the Russo-Torres's and Reid's were all gathered at Alex and Mitchie's house, just relaxing and talking as the kids played either outside or in the living room. Alison shifted in her seat, trying to find a way to get comfortable in her seat with her stomach still sticking out. Though the doctors said they were going to induce her if the baby still hadn't arrived in 2-3 weeks, she still had a few more days to wait until she was finally able to have the baby and be able to move and sleep comfortably again.

"Ugh, this is so not fun anymore." Alison groaned as she once again tried to get comfortable in her seat.

"Try it with two, and having Mr. Future soccer star kicking you every two seconds just as you get comfortable." Alex said as she looked down at Trenton in her arms who just looked up at his mother with a slight grin.

"Yeah I'm talking about you." Alex smiled as she tickled her son's stomach lightly causing her son to laugh.

"Yeah, I guess I don't really have it that bad, but it's still insanely uncomfortable." Alison said as she finally made herself comfortable after a half hour attempt. At about 2 o clock the Reid's decided they were going to head home (Jaiden insisted on staying so he and Ariana could finish the movie they were watching so he stayed behind) so with the goodbyes said Chase and Alison headed home. It was when Chase had opened the passenger door just after they had pulled into the driveway, and took one of Alison's outstretched hands and pulled her to her feet when the pavement beneath Alison's feet was suddenly very wet.

"Oh my god." Alison was the first to speak as she and Chase just looked at each other in shock.

"Okay, hang on. Get back in the car." Chase ushered her as fast as he could back in the car before shutting it and bolting inside quickly to grab the bag from the living room closet. With the baby bag in the back seat, and both their seat belts in place, Chase put the car in drive, only to stomp on the brakes and send the car into reverse. Chase fumbled with his phone before dialling the Russo-Torres's home number. It was only a few moments later when Alex answered.

"Hello?"

"Alex, it's Chase. Ali just went into labour." Chase said as his wife grabbed onto the dashboard making her way through one of the first of many contractions to come.

"Okay, we just need to wake up the babies and we'll be right there." Alex replied as both she and Chase hung up and Chase continued on his way to the hospital. About half an hour later Alison was admitted to the hospital and Alex, Mitchie and the kids came into the waiting room.

"Hey, they just checked her and said it was going to be a while." Chase reported as he closed the door to his wife's hospital room.

"Okay, well do you need us to run over to your place to grab anything?" Alex asked as she adjusted Anna in her arms.

"No, thankfully we made it home and I was able to grab everything before we got here." Chase replied. The next few hours went by slowly, Alison was progressing quicker than they thought she would so they figured within the next couple of hours the baby should arrive, so everyone was patiently sitting the waiting room hoping to hear soon that the baby was going to be there.

"Do you want a brother or sister?" Ariana asked as she and Jaiden played a game of war (Mitchie had taught Ariana how to play not long ago and Ariana seemed to love the game)

"I want a brother, brother's are more fun than sister's." Jaiden replied as he placed his card down, which Ariana ended up winning.

"Yeah, and they don't chew the heads of your toys." Ariana added, still bitter over Anna destroying her new Barbie just months ago. It was nearly 8 o clock when Chase came out into the waiting room, telling everyone that the newest addition to the Reid family was going to arrive in just a little while.

"Lex, She's asking for you to be in there." Chase said as she opened the door and Alex heard her friend scream in pain in the background.

"And I'd be quick about it." He added. Alex got up but took a second to look back at her wife, she felt guilty for leaving her with all four of the kids.

"It's okay, I can watch them." Mitchie assured her as Alex gave her wife a quick kiss before she headed into the room with Chase. The wait seemed to be taking forever, especially for the kids, Ariana and Jaiden were situated a few seats away playing a game of go fish after getting bored with the shows that were playing on the TV and the twins were being quiet but still showing some signs that they were a little restless.

"Mommy I'm bored." The oldest Russo child complained as she and Jaiden finished their 4th game of go fish that afternoon. So far Anna and Trenton were occupied with a few of the toys Mitchie had brought with her but they seemed to be getting bored with them and were getting more and more restless due to not having their nap since they had been at the hospital all afternoon.

"Well how about we read a few of your books you brought?" Mitchie suggested as Ariana grabbed two books from her bag and read to Mitchie, Jaiden and the twins for a bit. Once the books were done the kids once again complained of being bored and having nothing to do. Trying to think of something the kids would enjoy Mitchie had an idea.

"Wanna hear a song?" Mitchie asked. The two older children looked at her curiously.

" What song?" Ariana asked.

"Well I think you might know it but here I'll sing and tell me if you remember it." Mitchie said as she began to sing.

_**I don't know why, I don't know why I'm so afraid  
I don't know how, I don't know how to fix the pain  
We're living a lie, living a lie, this needs to change  
We're out of time, we're out of time and it's still the same  
**_

By the time Mitchie had almost reached the chorus Ariana had begun to silently sing along, remembering the song by heart since she was a few years old when Mitchie would sing it to her so she could fall asleep or just to calm her down.

_**We can't stop the world but there's so much more that we could do  
You can't stop this girl from falling more in love with you  
You said nobody has to know, give us time to grow and take it slow  
But I'd stop the world if it'd finally let us be alone, let us be alone…**_

_**I'm hearing the noise, hearing the noise from all around  
I'm on the edge, I'm on the edge of breaking down  
Like Bonnie and Clyde, let's find a ride and ditch this town**_

To keep it alive, keep it alive, don't make a sound

We can't stop the world but there's so much more that we could do  
You can't stop this girl from falling more in love with you  
You said nobody has to know, give us time to grow and take it slow  
But I'd stop the world if it'd finally let us be alone, let us be

I never want to take that final look  
I'll turn another page, won't close the book

We can't stop the world but there's so much more that we could do  
You can't stop this girl from falling more in love with you  
You said nobody has to know, give us time to grow and take it slow  
But I'd stop the world if it'd finally let us be alone, let us be alone  
Let us be alone, let us be alone

As Mitchie sang the 4 children quieted until absolutely no one was talking, not even anyone else in the waiting room. By the end of the song the children clapped (along with some of the people in the waiting room which made Mitchie blush) and a little while later Alex and Chase came out of the room.

"Hey guys come on in, Caitlin's waiting to see you " Chase smiled as Mitchie picked up Trenton and Alex went to get Anna and everyone headed into the room where Alison was holding their newborn child, looking more tired than ever yet still smiling from ear to ear as she held her daughter in her arms.

"Hey, oh my gosh Ali she's perfect." Mitchie said in awe as she looked at the newborn, a few noticeable little tuffs of hair sticking out from under her hat. Alex took one of the seats and sat down with Anna in her lap.

"Jai, wanna hold your sister?" Alison asked her son as the boy eyed the new baby. With a slight nod Chase pulled out one of the chairs in the room and told his son to sit back and Chase placed Caitlin in her older brother's arms, of course nearly sending Alison into tears at the sight (her over active hormones not helping the matter at all as she watched her son hold his baby sister). After a few minutes Ariana asked to hold the baby and once Caitlin had made her rounds being held by everyone she was passed back over to her mother.

"Behpee." Anna said as she tried to lean in and touch the newborn. Alex and Mitchie both let out a slight giggle at their daughter's instant fascination with the baby.

"Yeah honey, that's baby Caitlin." Alex said as she moved a little closer to the bed to let Anna have a closer look at Caitlin.

"Wanna give Caitlin a kiss?"

With that the youngest Russo girl gave the newest Reid a kiss on her head causing everyone in the room to awe. For the next couple hours everyone passed baby Caitlin around the room and chatted

"Mama, where's the bathroom?" Ariana asked.

"Here, I'll help you find it." Alex said as she passed Caitlin off to her father and went down the hall to help her daughter find the bathroom. As they made their way down the hall neither of the girls noticed the tall, muscular, tanned man just down the other side of the hall, his black hair still in his signature spike that he sported all through his life. As soon as he stepped out of his wife's hospital room (she had just had a baby herself, a little girl they named Madison) he immediately recognized the voice of his ex-girlfriend from high-school, even after 7, almost 7 and a half years of not seeing her besides through pictures on Facebook, and the miniature Alex and him (though she looked more like her mother than anything) that he hadn't seen since she was merely 4 months old in the grocery store with her mother.

**So…what y'all think of that little ending there? And hopefully someone see's what I did/ hinted at with that little Anna and Caitlin scene ;)**

**FUN FACT TIME!**

**You all are the best reviewers ever! And I love you all! =)**

**Jk (well jk in the fact that that's not the fun fact, but you all are pretty awesome)**

**In the original LATP, both Alex and Mitchie were going to be pregnant and meet each other at the hospital when they had appointments on the same day, so really, even if the story did start out Alex/Nate , Alex/Mitchie would have won :P**

**R&R!**


	36. Chap 35

**Chapter 35: Jacob Returns**

After Caitlin Christina Reid was released from the hospital life seemed to go on as normal for everyone (well for the Russo-Torres's anyway, The Reid's were having quite the time re-visiting the baby stages with their daughter and their son who didn't seemed all too thrilled over his sisters constant noise.). The rest of September and all of October had passed and now the cold weather of November had arrived. Alex was walking the isles of Wal-Mart and trying to find everything on their shopping list (Mitchie had stayed home with the kids and Alex got to take a shopping trip alone, which sometimes worked out better depending on the mood Ariana was in). Alex whipped out her phone quickly as she grabbed a few things for Ariana's school lunches and after a few rings Mitchie had answered.

"Hey baby, how much milk is left?" Alex asked remembering she hadn't checked the fridge as she made her list earlier.

"Um, not very much maybe enough for two or three more bowls of cereal." Mitchie replied.

"Okay I'll grab some more then. Anything else?" Alex asked

"No not that I can thi…Ariana Ryan Faith Russo! You do not do that!" Mitchie scolded halfway through her sentence. Alex could hear one of the twins start wailing in the background and by past scenario's it was more than likely Anna. Even after 16 months Ari still had yet to fully adjust to not being the center of attention anymore.

"What's going on?" Alex asked as she grabbed a box of granola bars.

"Oh, Anna had gotten a hold of one of Ari's books and Ari slapped it out of her hand." Mitchie replied.

"Ariana, to your room now. Don't come out till I say." Mitchie added on the other side. Now Ariana was the one crying as she stormed up to her room and shut the door as Mitchie gave an exasperated sigh as she picked up her still crying younger daughter.

"I'll let you go babe, so nothing else?" Alex said

"Nope nothing, see you in a bit" Mitchie replied.

"Love you"

"Love you too."

Alex placed her phone back in her purse and headed down towards the dairy products.

"Funny, last time I saw you was in a grocery store. How convenient." Came a familiar chuckle from in front of Alex.

"Jacob?" Alex asked as she looked up at the tall muscular man standing in front of her, a baby's car seat inside the cart. His looks hadn't changed at all since high school besides the obvious bit of aging.

"Can I see?" Alex asked. With Jacob nodding Alex went over to Jacob's cart and looked at the baby in the carrier who was asleep sucking on her pacifier.

"Oh my god she's adorable." Alex commented looking at the baby girl.

"Yeah, she's gunna be 2 months on the 23rd." Jacob said as he looked down at his daughter in her car seat.

"Really? So is my friend Alison's baby." Alex replied as she went back to her cart.

"Yeah I saw you in the hospital that day." Jacob told her.

"You were helping.." Jacob began but blanked when he couldn't remember the little girl's name.

"Ariana." Alex told him.

"Find the bathroom in the hospital." Jacob finished. The two continued to talk and catch up as they made their way through the store and grabbed the things they needed. As Alex pulled a package of yogurt tubes off the shelf Jacob asked her if he could meet Ariana.

"Jake, I really don't know. I told you back when I found out about her that the choice you made was the only choice you were allowed to make." Alex said.

"I know, and I totally respect that. All I'm asking is just a quick hello and maybe spending an hour or two with her." Jacob reasoned.

"And if you want both you and Mitchie can be there."

"Let me think about it." Alex replied. The two exchanged numbers before leaving the store and the entire drive home Alex thought about the pros and cons of letting Jacob meet and spend time with Ariana. Yes, he was her biological daughter and he did deserve to spend time with her, but then again he did ask Alex to get an abortion split seconds after telling him. A slight migraine began to form as she pulled up to the house and grabbed the bags from the backseat.

"Hi mommy." Ariana smiled as she grabbed one of the bags from her mother's hands as she walked in the door.

"Hey honey, where's mommy?" Alex asked as she put the groceries on the counter.

"She's putting Anna and Trenton to bed." Ariana replied. After un packing the groceries Alex called Mitchie into their bedroom to talk.

"So I when I was at the store earlier after I got off the phone with you I ran into someone." Alex began as she closed the door.

"Really? Who?" Mitchie asked.

"Jacob." Alex replied, causing Mitchie's face to instantly fall at the mention of her wife's ex girlfriend.

" He wants to see Ari sometime." Alex added.

"I wanted to ask you what you thought of that before I said yes. And he said all that he wants to do is just a quick hello and maybe 1 or 2 hours with her."

Mitchie bit her lip deep in thought.

"Lex, he did say he didn't want her." Mitchie pointed out.

"I know, and he said he still accepted the fact that his choice was his only one. It's just one or two hours how much can it really hurt?" Alex asked. Mitchie gave a slight sigh but agreed to let Jacob spend an hour or so with Ariana, even though she was still angry at him for what he did to her wife just over 7 years ago. Later that night after dinner was cleaned up and the twins were put to sleep Mitchie and Alex asked to talk to Ariana

"Ari, remember how I told you that some kids have a mommy and daddy, and some others have two mommies or two daddies?" Mitchie asked. Not quite sure where her mother was going she just nodded slightly

"Well mama ran into your daddy at the store and he wants to meet you." Mitchie said.

"Is he nice?" Ariana asked. Mitchie wanted to say something but Alex interjected.

"I don't know baby, I haven't seen him for quite a while." Alex replied.

"So do you want to meet him? You don't have to if you don't want to he'll understand."

"Do I have to call him daddy?" Ariana asked.

"Not if you don't want to." Alex replied

"Okay."

"So you wanna meet him?" Alex repeated. Ariana nodded her head and after their talk was done Ariana was tucked in and put to bed.

"Lex, I just don't have a good feeling about this." Mitchie said as she and Alex lay on the couch watching a re run episode of Grey's Anatomy.

"I know, a part of me doesn't either but he said we could go along with them if it made us feel better." Alex running her fingers through Mitchie's hair.

"I say let's go with them, I don't want him trying to pull anything." Mitchie said. The next day Alex phoned Jacob and they set up a meeting for the up-coming weekend. When that Saturday afternoon approached both Alex and Mitchie were extremely nervous, thankfully Ariana seemed to be a little curious so nerves were far from her mind. Just after 12:30 a knock was heard on the front door.

"I'll get it." Alex said as she took a deep breath before opening the door.

"Hey Jake." Alex greeted as the older boy stepped in the house.

"Hey, so everyone ready to go?" Jacob asked.

"Almost, Ari's just helping Mitchie get the twins ready." Alex replied as she heard her wife, daughters and son made their way downstairs.

"Ari, can you come here for a second please?" Alex asked as her daughter came down the stairs. Ariana helped Trenton over to the carpet before making her way over to her mother.

"Jacob, this is Ariana." Alex introduced.

"Hi Ari." Jacob greeted.

"Hi." Ariana said shyly.

"You know, you look just like your mama." Jacob complimented making the little girl smile.

"Thank you." She replied.

"So how about me, you , mama, mommy and the twins go out for lunch and go play at the park huh?" Jacob suggested seeing as the winter weather hadn't fully settled in. Ariana nodded and after everyone was ready they made their way over to P.F Chang's and ordered lunch.

"So what have you been up to since College?" Alex asked, holding Mitchie's hand tight under the table knowing this wasn't the most comfortable meal for her considering she had been the one who yelled at Jacob over his reaction over Alex's pregnancy.

"Well I graduated from NYU and got my journalism degree, and while I was in college I met Kelly. We dated for about 2 years before I proposed then a year later we got married then found out we were going to have Madison not too long after." Jacob replied.

"How was Kelly when you told her about Ari?"

"She was a little shocked when I told her, even more when I told her I saw you guys in the hospital a couple months ago, but she seemed okay with it." Jacob answered. The waitress brought over the food and everyone ate and chatted for the next little bit. When they reached the park about an hour later Alex and Mitchie placed Anna and Trenton in the baby swings while Jacob pushed Ariana on the other swings.

"Hey Ari,have you ever been under-ducked?" Jacob asked. The little girl shook her head and Jacob just grinned.

"Okay, hold on tight." Jacob said as he stepped back a bit while holding the swing and ran under the swing as it rose in the air. Ariana laughed hysterically as she continued to pump and keep her self air bourn.

"If me and Jai were playing swing higher I'd be winning." The little girl giggled as she saw how high she was.

"Who's Jai?" Jacob asked.

"Jaiden, he's my best friend." Ariana replied as she continued to swing. After a few more under-duck's and a quick break on the slides Jacob took a seat with Alex while Mitchie pushed the twins on the swings

"You did a great job with her Alex. She's a pretty great kid." Jacob complimented.

"Thanks, believe me she does have her moments. Like just before I saw you last week Mitchie said she had slapped a book out of Anna's hand because it was hers." Alex replied.

"Sibling jealousy, it gets the best of us." Jacob replied.

"I remember I was pretty bad with my little sister, but we got over it."

"Jake! Can you give me another under-duck? Please?" Ariana asked coming over to her mother and biological father.

"Sure, just one more though." Jacob said as he and Ariana walked over to the swing set. Ariana climbed onto the swing and after Jacob had given her the under-duck and the swing had come to a halt the 3 parents decided it was time to head home since the twins were practically falling asleep in the swings.

"Want me to drive her home?" Jacob asked.

"Um.." Alex was at a loss for words.

"Lex, it's not that far, just home and that's it. It'll give me and Ari some time to talk just the two of us." Jacob said. Reluctantly, Alex nodded and Alex, Mitchie and the twins headed into the car as Jacob and Ariana headed into Jacob's SUV. Jacob and Ariana were the first to the park, then Alex and Mitchie followed not too far behind. The traffic light had just turned green a few streets up from the park and Jacob started pulling forward when all of a sudden a black Ford that wasn't paying very much attention to the traffic lights came from the side and slammed into the side of the SUV, knocking it sideways quite a distance. Alex and Mitchie watched the scene in horror as the shock of what they had just seen hit them.

"NO!" Alex screamed as she ripped off her seatbelt and threw her door open to run over to the vehicle that held her oldest daughter.

TO BE CONTINUED

**Y'all wanted Drama right? Sorry it had to happen this way but the idea just got stuck in my head and I just had to use it. **

**R&R!**


	37. Chap 36

**Chapter 36: Jacob Returns Pt 2**

_Previously on Life With Ari:_

_a black Ford that wasn't paying very much attention to the traffic lights came from the side and slammed into the side of the SUV, knocking it sideways quite a distance. Alex and Mitchie watched the scene in horror as the shock of what they had just seen hit them._

"_NO!" Alex screamed as she ripped off her seatbelt and threw her door open to run over to the vehicle that held her oldest daughter._

_And now back to the story…_

* * *

Numb.

Mitchie was completely numb.

She sat in the driver's seat, knowing that she should be pulling her wife out of the way of the police, firemen and paramedics that had just arrived but it was like her legs and the rest of her body had completely lost any ability to function and all she could do was stay frozen in the car with Anna and Trenton in the back seat, watching the paramedic's and firemen try to free Ariana from the badly hit vehicle. Alex stood helplessly on the road as one of the paramedics got the back driver's seat door (the lesser hit out of the two) open which revealed her un conscious daughter, a few lines of blood going down her face as they slowly but surely got her out of the vehicle then began working on getting Jacob out. Alex rushed over and a police officer tried to hold her back

"Ma'am you're going to have to stay back." The police officer told her holding her back by the shoulders.

"But that's my daughter." Alex said as she watched the paramedic put Ariana on a stretcher. The policeman lowered his arms and Alex rushed towards the paramedic as he finished strapping Ariana onto the stretcher.

"Sir is my daughter going to be okay?" Alex asked, tears falling now as she looked down at her baby girl.

"We're not completely sure yet. She has quite a few cuts on her from the window breaking and so far that's all we can determine." One of the paramedics replied. As they loaded Ariana into the ambulance Alex saw the next ambulance pull up while the firemen managed to get Jacob free from his seat. Alex ran back to the car and managed to get Mitchie out of her frozen state and they followed the ambulance for the next few minutes until they pulled up outside Leonix Hill Hospital, the very hospital where Ariana was born.

"Ariana Russo, 7 years old several cuts on her face and hands, possible broken arm, concussion." One of the paramedics recited as the doctors met them outside in the ambulance dock. Alex, Mitchie and the twins followed not too far behind and were told to wait in the waiting room for any news, which proved to be easier said than done. The two girls were quiet for a while until Alex broke the silence

"This is my fault." Alex said as she and Mitchie let Trenton and Anna play with some toys in the waiting room, a few tears escaping yet again.

"If I had just said no she can ride with us…" she couldn't even finish her sentence before breaking out into sobs, Mitchie bringing her into a hug and letting her cry into her chest.

"Alex, this is in no way, your fault. It was the stupid driver not paying attention to what he was doing. You had nothing to do with it." Mitchie said rubbing her wife's back soothingly.

"Don't beat yourself up baby. She's going to be fine babe, I promise."

The next two hours went by slowly, Jacob was brought in just a few minutes after Ariana had been wheeled into emergency and by the looks of it he seemed to have more severe injuries since the driver of the other truck hit the driver's part of the vehicle worse than the back driver's. Dr. Robbins had found the girls in the waiting room and stayed to talk with them for a bit until finally one of the doctors came out of the emergency room.

"Family of Ariana Russo?" she called out. Immediately Alex and Mitchie shot up from their seats and went over to the nurse.

"How is she?" Alex asked as soon as she stepped in front of the nurse

"Well she's got a broken arm and a few good cuts and we're just waiting to bring her in for a CT to see if there is any brain damage." The nurse replied.

"Right now she's still out but if you'd like to go and see her she's just down the hall in room 302." The nurse added letting the mothers be. Grabbing the twins Alex and Mitchie navigated their way down the hall and opened the door of room 302. Right away Alex wanted to cry all over again at the sight, Ariana was lying in the hospital bed, several cuts covering her arms, hands and face, a nasal oxygen cannula in her nose, and a cast that went from the knuckles of her fingers nearly up to her elbow. Mitchie took Trenton from Alex and let her sit closer to the bed as Alex moved a slight bit of hair from Ariana's face. The doctor came in a few minutes later and took Ariana for her CT scan and Mitchie and Alex waited in the room with the twins, who were now getting tired since they had skipped their nap and it was reaching dinner time now.

"Mitch, do you mind waiting here while I go grab some stuff for Ari? I know she's going to be staying here for a little while so might as well get her some clothes." Alex asked.

"No lex I'll go get it. You should be the one waiting here for her. What did you wanna grab her?" Mitchie asked propping Anna in her arms.

"Just a few sets of clothes and her tooth brush and tooth paste. Maybe Peter too, just in case she wants him." Alex replied.

"I'll be right back." Mitchie said giving Alex a kiss and heading out the door with Anna and Trenton. The wait for Ariana to get back in the room from her CT seemed to take longer than Alex had wanted. She nervously played with her fingers as she waited for both Ariana and Mitchie to return. But being by herself gave her some time to think. Her little girl had faced such huge obstacles in her life already, first being born premature and being stuck in the hospital for a month and 3 days while the nurses took care of her, now being in a a car accident at just 7 years old that could have easily taken her life, a thought that just made Alex shudder. Ariana was her little girl, even though she loved all three of her children dearly, Ariana was her first baby, and would always have that special place in her heart. Alex was left with her thoughts for the next few minutes until Mitchie and the twins had returned. Mitchie had just returned from the house with a bag of Ariana's stuff when the nurse wheeled Ariana back in.

"So we should know the CT results within the next hour or so." The nurse said as she finished wheeling Ariana into the room. The room was silent for a little while until Alex looked up from where she was sitting and saw her daughter begin waking up.

"Mama?" the little girl questioned as her eyes adjusted to the bright lights of the hospital room.

"Hey baby. Mitch can you get the doctor?" Alex asked as Mitchie left and got the doctor.

"How are you feeling?" Alex asked as she stroked Ariana's cast-free arm.

"My head and my arm hurt." Ariana whimpered.

"It's okay. The doctors going to come in and help you feel better." Alex told her.

"You really scared me baby." Alex said, tears of happiness going down her face knowing her daughter was going to be okay.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." The little girl apologized, her puppy dog eyes making her mother melt more than she usually did.

"It's okay honey, I'm just glad you're okay." Alex said. A few seconds later Mitchie and the doctor came in and after checking Ariana over (the CT showed she had a minor concussion, thus why her head was hurting) and explaining to her the best they could what happened, the doctor pulled Alex and Mitchie to the side.

"Well besides the concussion, arm and cuts she's a very lucky little girl, with the force and size of the vehicle that hit them she could have had much worse injuries." The doctor said.

"Doctor Avery, we need you in here now!" one of the doctors called frantically from a few rooms down with a distressed look on her face. Hearing the urgency in his co-worker's voice Dr. Avery rushed down to the room and began working on the patient (which neither Alex or Mitchie knew was Jacob, who had begun flat lining just seconds before). By now the Reid's had made their way up to the hospital and were sitting with Alex, Mitchie and the twins in the hospital room.

"Alex, can I speak to you for a minute?" Dr. Avery asked. Alex nodded and handed off Anna over to Chase before heading out to the hall to speak with the doctor.

"If you don't mind me asking, and I hope you don't, who was driving the vehicle that Ariana was in?" Dr. Avery asked.

"Her father, Jacob. We were all out together so he could spend some time with her and when we were on our way home that's when the vehicle hit them." Alex replied. Dr. Avery knew the next bit of news would be hard.

"Well his injuries were extremely severe since his part of the vehicle was hit the hardest and I'm afraid he didn't make it." Dr. Avery reported solemnly. Alex covered her mouth in shock, trying hard not to cry again. Although Jacob hadn't been supportive of her decision to keep Ariana watching them earlier she knew that he would be a great father to Madison as she grew up, but now Madison wouldn't be able to grow up with her father there with her.

"I know you're not in a relationship with him but do you know anyone we could call or.." Dr. Avery asked.

"His wife Kelly, I'm not sure what their number is but I know that he has a wife and two month old daughter." Alex replied giving the doctor the only information she knew.

"Thank you very much." Dr. Avery said as he let Alex return to the hospital room. After sharing the news with Mitchie, Chase and Alison (Discretely of course so Ariana wouldn't find out) the Reid's stayed until 9 when Jaiden showed signs of falling asleep. Just as she opened the door to say goodbye to the Reid's she noticed a tall Brunette woman with a small baby in her arms, and she heard her say that her name was Kelly Black. As Dr. Avery approached Kelly with a solemn look on his face it was if Kelly didn't need to be told what had happened to her husband, and broke out into uncontrollable sobs as she held her baby girl close to her. Alex held back tears as she watched the woman cry over the loss of her husband and closed the door once she had said goodbye to Alison and Chase.

"Mama, is Jake okay?" Ariana asked. Alex was at a loss for words, not entirely sure how to explain the situation to her daughter…

**So there you have it my lovely readers, man I would have had this up earlier, but I was busy filling out stupid applications and hanging out with those stupid ppl called friends haha, jk I love my friends =)**

**Hope you all enjoyed this lil burst of drama**

**R&R! **


	38. Chap 37

**Chapter 37: Life After The Crash **

Alex had answered her daughter's question to the best of her ability so she would understand what had exactly happened and, as expected, Ariana was extremely upset. Even though she had just met Jacob, he seemed like a really nice guy and it didn't seem fair to her what had happened. At first she thought it was her fault, mostly because she was in the vehicle too and if she hadn't gone in with him she believed things would have turned out differently. But Alex assured her daughter that it wasn't her fault and the little girl seemed to be okay. Alex and Mitchie were going to attend Jacob's funeral (Alison and Chase were going to be watching the kids while they went, all three of them were much too young to go according to their mothers) and a few days after the accident and being given the go ahead, Ariana was sent home from the hospital. Alex and Mitchie had just dropped off the kids at the Reid's house and were heading up to the church to pay their last respects to Jacob. Mitchie didn't seem all that comfortable about going but she was willing to bear it if Alex wanted to go. There were quite a few vehicles parked outside and hand in hand the girls made their way inside.

"Hello everyone, and thank you for coming to celebrate the life of Jacob Ephraim Black." The priest began. The priest talked about Jacob's life, his work as a journalist and his younger years living with his father Billy and a few other things. After the priest was finished Kelly was brought up to speak and fought back tears as best she could as she talked about her late husband and her mother held barely 3 month old Madison. A few more of Jacob's friends and family spoke, his father's speech had everyone in tears as Billy talked about how a father or mother should never have to bury their child, then once everyone was finished speaking the mic was open to share memories about Jacob.

"Babe, would you mind if I went up there?" Alex asked knowing Mitchie was still a little uneasy being at Jacob's funeral. Even though Alex and Jacob didn't have the nicest of pasts she felt like she should say a few words about the guy who helped give her one of the best things to happen to her.

"Sure." Mitchie replied as she let go of Alex's hand letting her get up and make her way over to the mic, she knew that despite how Jacob had treated her Alex had still gotten Ariana out of the less than desired situation, it was only fair that she say a few last words.

"Hi everyone, I'm Alex Russo-Torres. First Mitchie and I want to send our condolences to Jacob's wife, daughter and the rest of their family; we can't even imagine what you're going through right now. I went to Middle School and High School with Jacob and we were best friends most of the time that was unless he tried to show me up in basketball and I showed him no mercy and beat him no matter how hard he tried." Alex began causing everyone to chuckle a little; Alex was quite the competitive child when she was younger.

"When I think of Jake, I remember this guy who just loved to make other's happy. You rarely saw him without that trademark grin spread across his face. When he talked to you, you couldn't help but smile. I remember one day back in 8th grade, there were these girls picking on me and he told them to go away, not exactly that nicely mind you, and he just let me sit with him and vent to him the rest of the lunch hour. That was just the guy he was, he loved to make anyone's day better." Alex let out a breath before she started the next part.

"When we were 17, going on 18 and in our senior year of High School, I told Jacob that I was pregnant with his baby. He didn't take it the way I wanted and we kind of lost contact after that up until just recently. But 2 weeks ago when he asked to see his daughter, I could tell he regretted his decision and I let him see her for the first time, 7 years later. Watching them together and hearing him talk endlessly about Kelly and his baby Madison I knew that they were two lucky girls to have such an amazing person in their lives. And I'm lucky to have a little girl who shares the same love to help make people's day like Jacob did." Alex fought back tears by this point.

"So Jake, thank you for giving me one of the best thing's to ever happen to me. I could see it in your eyes that day that Ariana had you wrapped around her finger, and I wish that she could've spent more time with you and had gotten to know you better. We're gunna miss you" Alex finished as she took her seat beside Mitchie. A few more of Jacob's friends came up to the mic, most likely co-workers or College friends since Alex didn't seem to quite know who they were, and finally the service was over. The group made their way over to the cemetery and both Alex and Mitchie's hearts broke as they watched Kelly break down in her mother's arms in uncontrollable sobs while holding her daughter, the only reminder she had of her husband who had been taken far too soon. The burial was soon over and Alex and Mitchie headed over to Alison and Chase's house to pick up the kids.

* * *

By now Ariana had been home for the weekend and that day would be the first day she'd be back at school since the accident. Ariana seemed fairly happy to be returning to school after being absent for a week(she loved school, not just for seeing friends but she loved learning new things all the time), and was now having an issue getting her jacket on over her cast.

"Mommy, Can you help?" Ariana asked as she tried her best to get her cast through her jacket sleeve. Mitchie stretched Ariana's Jacket sleeve open a bit more and helped her get her cast through then Mitchie brought Ariana up to the bus stop while Alex fed the twin's breakfast.

"Now if you need help with anything just ask Ms. Myers okay?" Mitchie told her remembering Ariana having issues with manoeuvring things with her cast since she had gotten it put on. Using her good hand Ariana slung her back pack over her shoulder and giving a kiss waving goodbye to Mitchie she climbed on the bus and took her seat.

"Ari!" Chelsie squealed as soon as she saw her friend on the bus for the first time in a week.

"Hey Chelsie." Ariana smiled as she hugged her friend the best she could as she sat down beside her.

"Can I sign your cast?" Chelsie asked looking at her friends green cast, a color the doctor let Ariana choose before she left the hospital.

"Sure." Ariana replied. Chelsie took out a marker from her bag and wrote her name under Jaiden's (he insisted that he be the first one to sign the cast) in purple. Ariana thanked her friend for signing her cast and the bus pulled up to Tribeca Elementary.

"Good morning everyone." Ms. Myers addressed her class as the 2nd grader's arrived in the classroom.

"Good Morning Ms. Myers." The class replied as the class sat in their designated desks.

"Now this morning we will be doing our math worksheets then a spelling test after recess. Sound good?" Ms. Myers asked her class. With little to no fuss the class agreed and Ms. Myers handed out worksheets to the class.

"Oh, welcome back Ari." Ms. Myers smiled handing a worksheet to her student.

"Thank you." Ariana replied as she quickly started on her math sheet, missing school work dearly the entire week she was gone. She had to ask Ms. Myers for a bit of help since she had missed some of the work while she was away, but she was sure she had done fairly well on the worksheet. Once everyone was finished their worksheets they began work on their art projects, Chinese lanterns since they were learning a little about china and the Chinese New Year.

"Hey Ari, can I sign your cast?" one of Ariana's classmates asked. Ariana nodded and after a few more of her classmates asked her to sign the cast and by the time the day was over her cast was filled with signatures. She hopped off the bus with Jaiden and they spent the next hour playing in Jaiden's play room (Jaiden was extra careful since Ariana had her cast on, which was a sweet gesture but annoyed Ariana sometimes since she wasn't used to everyone being so careful around her) and Alex came to pick up the kids at 4.

"Hi mama, look my whole class signed my cast!" Ariana exclaimed showing her mother the cast filled with names.

"That was nice of them." Alex said reading over the list of names on her daughter's cast. After getting the twin's ready to go Alex thanked Alison for watching them and headed home where Mitchie was already waiting for them.

"Hey guys." Mitchie smiled as she gave her wife a kiss, followed by the twins then Ariana.

"Hi mommy, look everyone signed my cast!" Ariana exclaimed as she struggled a bit to take her jacket off and showed her mother her name filled cast. Starting dinner an hour later Mitchie asked Ariana if she wanted to help (mostly because Ariana loved to help with dinner, but also to show Ariana you could still do most of the things you liked while wearing a cast) and the girls made baked Mac and cheese for everyone to enjoy. Bed time for the three children came faster than Ariana had wanted but as soon as Alex began reading "Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book" she was more than ready to fall asleep.

"Night baby." Alex said giving her daughter a kiss.

"Night mama." The little girl mumbled as she slowly fell asleep. It was only a couple hours later when Ariana began tossing and turning in her sleep, a nightmare playing in her head as she rolled around in bed, tears slowly coming to her eyes in her sleep. After a an hour and a half of tossing an turning the little girl woke up with a jolt.

"Mama!" Ariana cried as she sat up in bed, tears falling down her eyes as she called for her mother, holding her stuffed Rabbit for dear life. Alex rushed into her daughter's room and turned on the light.

"Baby whats wrong?" Alex asked as she placed her arms around her daughter holding her tight as she cried. The little girl tried her best to explain the dream but the words were just a jumble of nonsense as she talked through sobs.

"Shhh, baby it's okay." Alex soothed rubbing her daughter's back.

"It's okay." Finally after a few minutes Ariana had calmed down and Alex tucked her back in and told her if she wanted to she could come in and sleep with her and Mitchie. The little girl once again wished her mother goodnight and fell back asleep, only to be faced with yet another nightmare of the crash, instantly sending her down the hall and into her mother's bed the second she woke up.

**Hey everyone! So I hope you enjoyed this chap, writing Alex's speech was interesting cause I know that she is with Mitchie now, but Jacob still meant a lot to her, even if he was a jerk near the end of their relationship. And Ari will be showing more about what had happened when she's older, it will be a big part of the story later on so Jacob isn't totally gone I guess.**

**R&R everyone!**


	39. Chap 38

**Chapter 38:**

"Mama!" Alex heard her daughter call through sobs for the second time that night. With a frown Alex got out of bed once again, slowly and quietly heading out of the room so she didn't wake her sleeping wife, and opened the door to Ariana's room. The sight before her broke her heart, her poor daughter sitting up in bed, hugging her legs and sobbing uncontrollably.

"Shhh, honey it's okay, I'm here." Alex said wrapping her arms around her daughter as she cried. This had been happening every night since about a week after Ariana had come home from the hospital. The nightmares would cause Ariana to wake up 2 or 3 times a night and Alex would have to go to her room and comfort her. Rubbing her daughter's back soothingly Alex continued to assure her daughter what she experienced was only a dream and she was okay. It took about 10 minutes for the eldest Russo child's sobs to make their way down to mere sniffles and as soon as they did and Alex knew she would be able to fall back asleep Alex tucked Ariana back in.

"If you need me just come and get me okay?" Alex said. Ariana nodded slightly as her mother gave her a kiss and headed back to her room.

"Is she okay?" Mitchie slightly mumbled as she woke up from Alex climbing back into bed.

"Yeah, it took a bit longer than usual to calm her down but she fell back asleep pretty quickly." Alex replied as she wrapped her arms around Mitchie's waist.

"I'm really worried about her babe; I don't think it's healthy for this to be happening to her for 3 weeks straight." Mitchie said.

"I know, I booked an appointment with Dr. Kimmel tomorrow, maybe he could help and see what could be wrong." Alex told her. Dr. Kimmel was a child psychiatrist that specialized in dealing with children who had gone through traumatic events like car accidents, the death of a loved one, and other things. At first Alex was a little hesitant, no 7 year old should have to see a psychiatrist at such a young age, but seeing everything that was going on with her daughter she knew maybe it would help. The dreams weren't the only thing going on; Ariana also was extremely nervous when she got into any vehicle, and whenever someone brought up the accident Ariana would just go silent and not really talk to anyone. After the second week of nightmares Alex got extremely worried and called Dr. Kimmel to book an appointment. When the next morning approached Alex had gotten up and got the twins out of their cribs and brought them downstairs for breakfast. Mitchie had already left for work (there was an overflow of Christmas parties the restaurant had to prepare for that week causing Mitchie to have to work on a Saturday for the first time ever) and Alex headed up to Ariana's room to wake her up. When she opened the door to her oldest daughter's room she saw her stirring in her sleep.

"Ari, wake up baby." Alex said as she nudged her daughter's shoulder. Within a few seconds the little girls eyes shot open and she woke up with a slight jolt.

"Ari we gotta get going in a little bit so come on down and eat some breakfast." Alex said as Ariana slowly woke up. Ariana made her way down to the kitchen table where Alex already had a bowl of cereal waiting for her.

"Where's mommy?" Ariana asked, not used to Mitchie not being home on a Saturday.

"She had to go into work for a bit today, don't worry, she'll be back this afternoon." Alex replied giving her daughter a kiss on the head as she poured Ariana a glass of Orange juice. Just over an hour and a half later Alex had gotten all three kids ready and out the door. While Alex and Ariana were going to Dr. Kimmel's office Alex was dropping the twins off at Alison's house. Alex was loading the twins up in their car seats and Ariana waited until her mother was done before hesitantly making her way into the vehicle. Ariana was silent the entire car ride to both Alison's house and to Dr. Kimmel's office and when they arrived at the hospital it was almost impossible to separate Ariana from her mother. Ariana played with one of the girls in the waiting room for a few minutes until a middle aged man came through the doors with a chart in his hands.

"Ariana Russo?" he called out. Nerves taking over her, Ariana once again clung to her mother, more so once they got into the room.

"So, what seems to be happening Ariana?" Dr. Kimmel tried to ask the little girl, but she soon hid her face in Alex's shoulder. With a sigh Alex proceeded to tell the doctor the situation.

"Well about a month ago Ariana was in a car accident with her dad, and she was fine for the first week, she was still herself and didn't seem to be having any major issues besides manoeuvring things with her broken arm, but then she started having nightmares every night and waking up from them once or twice a night. And when we get into the car she seems really nervous and won't really talk when someone brings up the accident." Alex said, Ariana hiding her face deeper into her shoulder as she continued to talk to Dr. Kimmel. After trying to ask Ariana a few questions Dr. Kimmel realized that the little girl wasn't going to say much while she had her mother to cling on to.

"Alex, can I talk to you outside for a moment?" Dr. Kimmel asked. Getting Ariana to sit down in the seat beside her Alex headed out to the hall with Dr. Kimmel.

"Well judging by her actions it seems like she has Acute Stress Reaction, which is like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder but only last about 4 weeks." Dr. Kimmel said.

"I was wondering if you wouldn't mind staying out in the waiting room for a bit so I could try and talk to her. It might be easier for her to talk without someone there to cling to." Hesitantly, Alex agreed and waited out in the waiting room while Dr. Kimmel went back into the room with Ariana.

"So Ariana, mama said you were in a car accident with your dad?" Dr. Kimmel asked. Ariana slightly nodded, refusing to look up from the ground.

"His name's Jake." Ariana corrected, finding it weird calling someone dad.

"Do you remember anything that happened?" Dr. Kimmel questioned.

"No." Ariana replied, still not making any eye contact with the doctor. Wanting to get more out of Ariana, Dr. Kimmel tried a different tactic to get her to talk.

"Ariana, if you tell me what you remember I might be able to help the bad dreams go away." Dr. Kimmel told her. Wanting her bad dreams to go away Ariana looked up at Dr. Kimmel.

"I asked Jake if we could go for ice cream and when he was answering me I saw a truck coming and then it hit us." Ariana replied. Dr. Kimmel wrote some things down and looked back up at the 7 year old.

"Do you remember anything after that?"

"I remember seeing mama, mommy, Aunt Ali, Uncle Chase and Jaiden when I woke up. Mama was crying because she was scared I got really hurt." Ariana told him. Again Dr. Kimmel wrote some things down on his notepad.

"Now, mama told me you were having bad dreams too, what happens in your bad dreams?" Dr. Kimmel asked.

"I try telling Jake the trucks coming but he doesn't listen." Ariana replied quietly. Flashbacks from both her dreams and the actual crash played in her head causing her to become extremely upset.

"I want mama." The little girl said her voice quivering slightly as she became more and more upset.

"Okay, I'll go get her." Dr. Kimmel said as he got up from his seat and headed out into the waiting room to find Alex.

"Alex?" Dr. Kimmel said causing the mother to quickly get up from her seat and make her way over to the doctor.

"Well she definitely has signs of ASR, there's not much you can do right now but I'd suggest bringing her here for the next couple weeks every Saturday and maybe it could speed the process a bit." Dr. Kimmel said.

"She seemed to be getting a little upset and she was asking for you so I'll book her in for next Saturday and I'll see you then." Dr. Kimmel said as he left and Alex went back into the room to get her daughter.

"Hey honey." Alex said as she opened the door. Ariana practically flung herself at her mother.

"I wanna go home." Ariana said as she grabbed her mother's hand tight.

"Okay, let's just go get Anna and Trenton first then we can go home." Alex said giving her daughter's hand a re-assuring squeeze and they headed back out to the car. When they arrived at Alison's house Ariana went into the backyard to play with Jaiden while the two mothers talked.

"So how did everything go at the appointment?" Alison asked.

"Well at first she didn't say anything. And Dr. Kimmel said from what I had told him she could have Acute Stress Reaction, then he talked to her one on one he came out and said after a few sessions with him she should be better." Alex replied as she held Trenton on her lap and Anna sat with Caitlin on her play mat. Alison and Alex talked for a little while longer while the older kids played in the backyard. After thanking Alison and Chase for watching the twins Alex and the kids headed home where Ariana just sat on the couch and watched Finding Nemo until Mitchie got home.

"Hey babe." Mitchie smiled as she wrapped her arms around Alex and gave her a kiss.

"How did everything go over at the Doctors?" Mitchie asked. Alex explained everything that had happened over at the doctors with Ariana and Mitchie listened intently. It broke her heart just as much as it did Alex's seeing how upset Ariana was over what had happened with her and Jacob and how much it had affected her, especially when Ariana woke up crying every night because of her nightmares. After deciding what to have for dinner Alex began getting all the ingredients for baked Macaroni and Cheese (Mitchie had done enough cooking that day so Alex offered to cook dinner that night).

"Ari, you wanna help me with dinner?" Alex asked. Getting up from the living room carpet Ariana nodded and went into the kitchen to help her mother with dinner. For the rest of the night the Russo-Torres's relaxed and eventually it was time for the kids to go to bed.

"Night baby." Alex said as she kissed her daughter good night.

"Night mama." Ariana said before falling asleep.

_*Dream*_

_Jake can we go get some ice cream?" Ariana asked from the backseat of Jacob's SUV. Jacob looked back at Ariana in the rear view mirror._

"_Sure, when we can find a place to pull over I'll give her and mommy a call and tell her where to meet us." Jacob said as he pulled out from the intersection. Ariana looked over to her left and saw the semi coming their way._

"_Jake! A truck!" Ariana exclaimed. Jacob didn't say a thing and continued to make his way out of the intersection._

"_JAKE!" Ariana cried again before the truck hit them sending the SUV sideways and the rest was black._

_*end Dream*_

"Jake!" Ariana cried as she woke up from yet another nightmare. The little girl sat up in bed and held Peter close. She knew her mother would want her to go and get her but she felt as if she had done that too much over the last little while so she let out a few sniffles before laying back down and falling back asleep.

**Hey everyone, again I'm so sorry this chapter's a day late. Stupid computer and my stupid finger slipping on the touch pad. **

**So like I said earlier, the crash is going to be a big part of Ariana's storyline, its not going to be something she'll easily brush off.**

**And I have a question for you**

**Should Jacob and Kelly's daughter, Madison, become a part of Ariana's life later on even though Jacob's gone and Kelly's still dealing with Jacob's death? If you want to I have an idea for a chapter that could include Madison.**

**R&R!**


	40. Chap 39

**Chapter 39: Be My Valentine?  
**

Over the next couple of weeks Ariana continued to see Dr. Kimmel and to Alex and Mitchie's relief she seemed to be getting better. Her nightmares were beginning to be less frequent and wasn't as hesitant when it came to getting into vehicles. The process was slow but as far and Alex and Mitchie were concerned slow progress was better than no progress at all. By the time mid-January had hit Ariana went over to the hospital and was able to finally get her cast removed, something that was a long time coming for the 7 year old since she wasn't able to do much with the cast on.

It was now February 13, a Tuesday, and Ariana was over at her friend Emily's birthday party. The theme as predicted was Valentines and the girls were in the midst of playing a game like hot potato where they passed around a prize wrapped in several layers of wrapping paper and whoever un-wrapped the last layer of paper got the prize. So far most of the girls had a prize each and were passing the last prize around. The music stopped and Ariana un-wrapped a layer of wrapping paper and revealed a white teddy bear with a red heart nose.

"Awe, he's cute." Ariana commented as she put the teddy bear in her lap.

"Okay girls time for Cake!" Emily's father called out. The 7 guests and Emily ran over to the kitchen table and sang the birthday girl happy birthday before she made a wish and blew out her candles. As the girls ate cake Emily's mother handed out the goodie bags which had a whole bunch of Valentine's Day style accessories: bracelets, necklaces, hair clips, hair ties, and other things. The girls admired their stuff and the birthday girl suddenly got an idea.

"Hey guys! Since tomorrow's Valentine's Day we should wear all our stuff and be matching!" Emily piped up as her mother helped all the girls get their Valentine's stuff on.

"That'd be so cool!" Rachel exclaimed as she admired her heart necklace. After pinkie swearing all the party guests would wear all their given accessories the girls continued to play until their parent's came to get them.

"So did you have a good time over at Emily's?" Mitchie asked as she and Ariana made their way back home.

"Yeah it was lots of fun. We got Valentine's earrings, necklaces and clips in our goodie bags and were all gunna wear them tomorrow and be matching." Ariana told her mother, excited that she and her friends would be matching on Valentine's Day.

"Oh that's cool, do you have all your cards ready to hand out?" Mitchie asked.

"Yep, I put them in my backpack." Ariana replied as they pulled into the driveway. The girls entered the house and right away Trenton saw his sister and burst into smiles.

"Awi!" the little boy exclaimed as he made his way over to his sister. Ariana smiled back as she began playing with her younger brother and sister in the living room while Alex and Mitchie made dinner.

"So are you ready for our night out tomorrow?" Alex asked as Mitchie finished putting the lasagne they were making into the oven, wrapping her arms around Mitchie as she stood up.

"I would be more prepared if you told me where we were going." Mitchie giggled giving her wife a soft peck on the lips.

"But that would ruin the surprise baby." Alex smirked causing Mitchie to playfully role her eyes at her wife.

"Then I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Mitchie replied giving her wife yet another kiss. For that Valentine's Day Alex was taking Mitchie to the very restaurant where they spent their first anniversary for a quiet dinner for two and then they would take a walk around central park, again just the two of them. Since the last time they were actually able to get out just the two of them was their trip to the resort the year before both girls were excited to have the night to themselves. Once dinner was cooked and served the 5 Russo-Torres's sat and ate and talked about their days, mostly Ariana telling her mother's about her and her friends plan for Valentine's Day. The next morning Ariana was up bright and early to get ready for school that day. When she woke up she went to the kitchen where there were heart shaped pancakes waiting for her at her spot, courtesy of Mitchie, and in front of Alex's spot sat a bouquet of red roses.

"Happy Valentine's Day baby." Mitchie smiled as Alex walked downstairs with Anna in her arms. Alex looked at the bouquet of Roses and after she put Anna in her highchair she gave Mitchie a hug and a kiss.

"Happy Valentine's Day." Alex replied giving her wife another soft peck.

"You're gunna have to wait for tonight for my present. Well presents, if you know what I mean." Alex said, whispering the last part with a suggestive wink.

"Alexandra, no talk or hinting about ex-say while the kids are in the room." Mitchie playfully scolded, making sure to use pig Latin so little and curious ears couldn't tell what they were talking about.

"What's ex-say?" Ariana asked, scrunching her nose at the awkward sounding word. Both Alex and Mitchie had to contain their laughter as they simply told their daughter it was something she was much too young to know about. After quickly finishing their breakfast Ariana began to get her accessories on.

"Mama, can you put my hair in braids?" Ariana asked bringing two hair ties over to her mother (braids were yet another part of the girls plan to match). Alex quickly put Ariana's hair in two low French braids (adding the clips she had gotten the day before to put her bangs back) and with that her hair was done. To complete the Valentine's Day outfit Ariana was wearing a black skirt and leggings with black Mary Jane's along with a white shirt with a huge red heart in the middle of it, and LOVE written down one sleeve, HEART written on the other, and her heart jewellery dangling from her neck and ears.

"You look very pretty today honey." Alex complimented looking at her daughter who just smiled wide.

"Thank you." Ariana replied as she made sure she had everything on that she needed and then Alex brought her up the street to the bus stop.

"Have a good day honey." Alex said giving her daughter a kiss as she headed on the bus.

"I will, bye mama." Ariana said as she got on the bus and took her seat. As the bus made its route around Ariana smiled when she saw that Chelsie, Everlie and Rachel were all wearing their things from Emily's party the day before. When the bus pulled up to Tribeca Elementary the four girls searched for Hayley, Angela, Emily and Danielle on the playground.

"Guys! Over here!" Emily called from the front of the school. The group of four rushed over to the other four girls and they each complimented each other on their incorporation of their accessories. The school bell rang and the 8 girls headed into Ms. Myers class and took their seats.

"Good morning class, happy Valentine's Day." Ms. Myers greeted her class as they all came in.

" Now before we start exchanging Valentine's I would like you all to first finish the worksheet we were working on yesterday." Ms. Myers told her class. The class quickly pulled out their math worksheet and finished off the last few questions before they were all finished and took out their Valentine's mail boxes. The class of twenty spent the next half an hour walking around the classroom and handing out their Valentine's and then began reading them. Ariana sat with her friends, giggling and smiling as they read their cards when one of the boys came up to Emily and tapped her on the shoulder. The boy looked nervous as Emily turned around and looked at him.

"Hi Emily." The boy, named David, greeted shyly.

"Hi David." Emily replied.

"Um…I was wondering…would you be my Valentine?" he asked. Emily's lips pulled up into a smile at the boys words.

"Sure, I'll be your Valentine." Emily replied, making the boy smile from ear to ear.

"I want a Valentine." Rachel pouted as Emily walked off with David, giggling away as they left the group of girls.

"Why don't you ask someone?" Angela said making it sound like the most obvious thing in the world.

"Okay." Rachel said as she looked around the room for someone to be her Valentine.

"Noah!" Rachel called out looking at one of the boys across the room. The group of 8 was now down to a group of six and in no time only Hayley and Ariana were left.

"Well seems like everyone else has got a Valentine but us." Hayley commented as she watched all her friends off with their respective Valentine's.

"Yeah, oh well, who needs Valentine's anyways?" Ariana said, although she was a little bummed that she was one of two friends who didn't have a Valentine.

"Yeah, were better off without 'em." Hayley agreed. As soon as the words left the girls mouth Jeremy Hunter came over to Ariana and Hayley.

"Hayley, I was wondering….would you be my Valentine?" Jeremy asked. With a nod of her head Hayley and Jeremy walked off, leaving Ariana the last of the group on the carpet. The 7 year old let out a slight sigh and as if someone knew what she had wanted the bell rang for recess and Ariana raced out of the classroom and out to the playground to meet up with Jaiden at the swings.

"Hey Ari." Jaiden smiled as he took his swing.

"Hey." Ariana smiled lightly.

"You okay? You don't seem too happy." Jaiden asked noticing his friend's fake smile.

"All my friends have Valentine's and I don't" Ariana admitted with a huff. She looked around the playground and could easily see her friends off with their Valentines of the day around her.

"I'll be your Valentine." Jaiden offered looking at the younger girl. Ariana genuinely smiled for the first time since all her friends ditched her for their Valentine's.

"Really?" Ariana asked. Jaiden nodded making Ariana smile even wider.

"I don't have a Valentine and since you don't either…" Jaiden trailed off as Ariana stopped him.

"Thanks Jai." Ariana said.

"Now come on, I wanna kick your but at who can swing higher." The younger girl giggled as she got a head start and began swinging and Jaiden just chuckled as he tried to catch up. As she predicted Ariana had won the contest and soon the bell had rung for class. The day at school quickly ended and after spending the extra hour at Alison's there wasn't much time between getting home, then having Mitchie and Alex get ready for their dates and the kids would be getting a sitter this time, since Alison and Chase also had Valentine's Day plans.

"What do you think honey?" Alex asked as she showed her daughter her outfit, a red dress that came just to her knees along with a pair of black pumps. Alex's hair was done in ringlets that cascaded down her back and was slightly put back with bobby pins.

"You look really pretty." Ariana smiled giving her mother her seal of approval.

"Babe you ready cause we shou…wow." Mitchie entered the room and was speechless at the sight of her wife. She was absolutely stunning (which really wasn't a switch from any other day).

"Ready to go?" Alex asked, trying to get her wife to say something besides having her mouth hanging open . Alex swore sometimes her wife was worse than a hormonal teenage boy.

"Uh, yeah we should get going." Mitchie said finally gaining her composure. Giving their daughter a kiss and telling her to be good for the sitter the two mother's headed off to the restaurant for dinner.

Needless to say from her reaction to her wife's outfit, Mitchie loved both of her Valentine's Day presents.

**Hey everyone, so hope y'all enjoy this chap. And YAY DEMI'S OUT OF THE TREATMENT CENTER! *dance party* I'm way beyond happy about that. **

**R&R!**


	41. Chap 40

**Chapter 40: Ari's 8**

With everything that had occurred over the last 7 months Alex knew that this year Ariana deserved a great party for what she had gone through. So two weeks before Ariana's birthday they began discussing ideas for the upcoming party, and with a few ideas in mind everything was planned.

That year, Ariana and 5 of her friends were going to Coney Island for the day and were going to go on all the rides and then stop at the New York Aquarium for the last bit of the day so the kids could take a look around at all the Aquatic animals and creatures (Ariana was especially excited to see the otters). After deciding the 5 people she was going to invite (the usual Everlie, Emily, Chelsie, Tory and Rachel along with the Reid's like every year) the 6 girls were more than excited to spend the day out at the amusement park and aquarium.

On the Saturday morning that followed Ariana's birthday Alex and Mitchie were up bright and early making sure they had everything packed up to head out for the day. Ariana was keeping the twins busy in the living room while the two mothers were in the kitchen looking through all the bags they had packed making sure they hadn't missed anything.

"Mama, Mommy is it time to go yet?" Ariana asked for the 3rd time that hour.

"Not yet sweetie, give us about 15 more minutes and we can go okay?" Mitchie said as Ariana gave a slight sigh and headed back into the living room with Trenton and Anna. By the time 15 minutes had passed Ariana was eyeing the kitchen entrance, waiting for her mother's to tell her it was time to head out. Finally after an extra 10 minute wait Alex told Ariana it was time to head out and the little girl quickly grabbed her shoes and jacket and after helping her mother's bring everything to the car they all headed off to Coney Island. The last time Ariana had been there was her 5th birthday when they went to the beach the same day as her party so since she hadn't been there in so long she was extremely excited, more so since she was actually going to be able to ride the rides since the park would be open, and seeing all the sea life just added to the excitement. When they arrived they waited outside the park entrance for all the guests to arrive, which didn't take that long since all the kids were extremely excited to spend the day on rides and going to the aquarium.

"Okay, what does everyone want to ride first?" Alex asked the kids as they entered the park, loud rides and the sound of people screaming and squealing surrounding them. The girls and Jaiden looked around at all the rides there was to offer.

"I wanna do bumper cars!" Tory piped up. Ariana's eyes lit up at the suggestion.

"Yeah let's do that!" Ariana agreed. With the rest of the group in agreeance they all headed over to the bumper cars and waited in line to go on the ride. The person managing the ride (he was in his late teens at the earliest) let the seven children on and pick their cars, some of them doubling up since there wasn't many cars for them to choose from, and soon the ride began.

"Jai go that way!" Ariana giggled as Jaiden steered them around. Jaiden moved the car and bashed into Tory and Rachel, in turn making all four children giggle, and after what seemed like no time at all the bell went to tell them the ride was over.

"That was so fun!" Ariana exclaimed with a giggle as they exited the ride.

"Yeah, but I didn't know how to drive the car at first." Tory admitted.

"Okay what should we go on next?" Ariana asked, leading the group as they all looked around.

"How about we go on music express!" Jaiden said pointing to the ride across from them **(Never been to Coney Island so I'm just using rides from an amusement park I used to go to haha). **Music express seemed like a simple ride, a few carts go around in a circle, but music played as the ride went on and the faster the music played, the faster the ride went.

"Lets go!" Everlie called out as the 7 children, 3 babies and four parents headed off to the ride. The kids all got on and the ride began. "The Time (Dirty Bit)" By the Black eyed Peas playing once the ride started.

_Oh I've _

_Had the time of my life_

_And I never felt like this before_

_And I swear_

_It's the truth _

_And I owe it all to you_

"Who wants to go faster?" the ride runner asked. Everyone on the ride shouted their own form of yes and the ride picked up instantly, sending all the party guests and the other riders into fits of laughter and shrieks. By the time the ride was over the kids made their way out of the ride, all of them giggling like mad as they got back to Alex, Mitchie, Alison and Chase.

"Okay, how about we do something a little easier?" Ariana asked, still trying to recover from the previous ride, she didn't mind the circling of the ride, it was the speed that made her stomach go into slight knots.

"How about the wave swinger?" Alex suggested. The wave swinger was just a simple swing ride that brought you around in a circle as you sat in a swing, an easy concept and easy on the stomach. Everyone made their way over to the ride and took a seat and soon the ride sprang to life. With the height of the swings Ariana was able to see all over the amusement park grounds and grinned at the view she had. The ride soon ended and the children discussed what last rides they would go on before breaking for lunch, then the aquarium.

"I say let's go to The Kettle Creek Mine Coaster, then the super slide." Ariana said.

"We could have a three way race at the super slide!"

Wanting to add some competition to the day everyone agreed with the birthday girls choice and did a round at the Kettle Creek Mine Coaster(a child size roller coaster that everyone seemed to enjoy) before heading off to the Super Slide, a long slide that three people could go down on Mats. Choosing the race order, Rachel, Ariana and Everlie went up and once the girl at the top of the slide told them it was safe to go the children tore off down the slide. Rachel was the first to hit the bottom and right after they got off Jaiden, Tory and Emily raced up to have their turn. After having a few races(even one group race where Ariana and Chelsie proved to be the winners) Alex, Mitchie, Chase and Alison walked the kids over to the Aquarium just a few blocks away.

"Hey guys, welcome to The New York Aquarium." One of the workers, Stacy, greeted.

"How's everyone's day so far?" rounds of "great" and "awesome" were the response as Stacy smiled at the group of children.

"Awesome. So you all ready to see some awesome sea animals?" she asked. The group gave a loud yes as she giggled and showed the adults which exhibits were where.

"Mommy, can we go see the otters first?" Ariana asked.

"Yeah, I wanna see the otters too." Chelsie added.

"Okay, Otters it is." Alex and Mitchie agreed as they looked up at the signs and saw the otters were just down the hall. The kids followed the four adults and as soon as they saw the otters they all had their faces pressed to the glass.

"Awe! They're so cute!" Ariana squealed as she watched one of the otters lying on its back eating a star fish.

"He is…or she." Everlie agreed as they continued to watch the otters until the parents had to pull them away.

"Let's go see the dolphin show guys, it should be starting soon." Mitchie said looking at one of the notices on the wall. All the children's eyes lit up as they rushed out to where the dolphin show was going to take place.

"Hello everyone, and welcome to the New York Aquariums Dolphin Show!" the dolphin trainer called out to the audience as they burst into applause when the first dolphin, named Spinnaker, jumped out of the water and into the air, getting a big splash as he landed which hit Ariana and a few other guests a bit.

"Hey!" Ariana giggled trying to wipe off the bit of water that landed on her. The dolphin show was a huge hit with the kids, all of them watched Spinnaker and the other dolphin Moby in awe as they did their flips and tricks. After the dolphin show the group broke for lunch quickly, although it was quite a late lunch since it was nearing 2:30, and headed back around the aquarium.

"Can we go see the beluga whales?" Jaiden asked as he looked outside and saw the white whales in their area.

"How about it guys?" Alex asked the group. With everyone agreeing they all headed back outside to where the Beluga's were and watched them swim around.

"Look, a baby beluga!" Rachel said pointing to the beluga calf swimming by its mother.

"Like in that song Ms. Nielsen taught us last year! Baby beluga in the deep blue sea, swim so wild and swim so free."

"Heaven above and the sea below, and a little white whale on the go!" everyone else finished as they kept watching the beluga's. After a few minutes they continued on and headed over to the sea lions just a little ways away and after that they began looking through all the tanks of fish they had.

"Look its Nemo and Dory!" Ariana said pointing to the clown fish and a blue tang sturgeon fish in one of the tanks. The kids had a blast looking at all the fish and even a small shark that was in another room of tanks. By the time the tour of the Aquarium was over the group was allowed picking one small thing each from the gift shop before they all walked over to the beach and relaxed for a bit and gave Ariana her presents (the best present for Ariana was by far the guitar her mother's had gotten her since she had just started lessons a few weeks earlier) before the cake was brought out.

_Happy Birthday to you_

_Happy Birthday to you_

_Happy Birthday dear Ari_

_Happy Birthday to you_

Everyone clapped as the birthday girl thought up a wish and blew out her candles with a huge smile.

"Happy Birthday honey." Alex smiled as she gave her daughter a kiss on her cheek before taking the cake (which was in the shape of a Ferris wheel for the Amusement park theme) and giving each of the guests a slice.

"So did everyone have a good time today?" Mitchie asked the group as she and Alex fed Anna and Trenton their cake. All the guests shouted "yes!" with huge smiles on their faces. After all the kids had retold their highlights of the day they had to pack up and head back over to the amusement park entrance where their parents were due to pick them up any time.

"Bye Ari, Happy Birthday!" Chelsie said as she gave her friend a hug before heading to her vehicle with her mother.

"Bye Chelsie thanks for coming." Ariana said as she waved goodbye to her friend and the last of the guests to head home.

"Now, how about we head home and have birthday dinner with everyone?" Alex said looking down at her oldest daughter, who it seemed, was growing up faster than she ever thought was possible.

"Yeah!" Ariana agreed as she hopped into the car and they all headed home to have dinner with Alex and Mitchie's parents along with the Reid's.

**Hey everyone, so I pretty much have had the best two days ever, yesterday was my birthday, and today I got my acceptance into the Katimavik Program (which is like a volunteer program, if you wanna know more about it go to ) so yeah I'm like on cloud nine right now haha. **

**and not gunna lie, I read the first chapter of this story yesterday and teared up a little, Ari's growing up *sniffle* but shes not done yet so that makes up for it :D**

**R&R!**


	42. Chap 41

**Chapter 41: Bye Bye NY**

After Ariana's birthday it took no time at all for summer to arrive and swing into action, along with the arrival of the twins 2nd birthday which was spent again with friends and family. By now it was early August and Alex had just arrived at the Reid's house to pick them up after being at work all day and getting some exciting and nerve wracking news(not nerve wracking on her part but more so on the rest of her family's). Knocking on the door, Alex waited a few seconds before her best friend opened the door, her 11 month old daughter resting on her hip

"Hey lex, the kids are just playing outback." Alison reported as the younger of the two mothers stepped inside and saw her oldest daughter out in the backyard with Jaiden and her two youngest children playing in the living room.

"Hey guys." Alex smiled at the twins who ran up to their mother and hugged her.

"You have fun with Aunt Ali today?" Alex asked. The youngest Russo's gave their versions of yes and their mother giggled.

"That's good, now let's get ready to go, mommy gunna be home soon." Alex said as the two toddlers walked over to their shoes and Alex helped them get their shoes on. As she called her daughter out from the backyard she watched her give Jaiden a goodbye hug and at that point she knew the news she would have to share would hit Ariana hardest of the three children, which stung because the poor girl had already been through enough already. After thanking Alison for watching the kids she headed home and within an hour of arriving home Mitchie made her way through the door.

"Hey babe." Mitchie smiled as she gave her wife a kiss.

"Hey." Alex greeted back with a smile.

" So how was work today?" Mitchie asked. She could tell by the look on her wife's face after she had pulled away from the kiss that there was something on her mind, whether it was good or bad she wasn't quite certain but she was hoping to get it out of her.

"Well my boss called me into the office today and told me that I was one of her most talented designers and she saw big things for me in the future." Alex began.

"And then she offered me a promotion."

"Oh my god baby that's amazing!" Mitchie exclaimed giving her wife a congratulatory hug and kiss.

"I know I was really excited, then she told me that there was an add on to the promotion." Alex continued.

"What is it?" Mitchie asked in anticipation.

"I'm going to be working in one of the offices in Dallas, as the manager." Alex told her.

"Wait…Dallas?" Mitchie asked. Alex nodded nervously, hoping her wife would be supportive.

"They want me there for September." Alex said. Mitchie let out a worried breath.

" Babe, I don't need to take it, I told her I would think about it, I wanted your opinion before I gave my final answer." Alex added. She knew that Ariana's opinion mattered too but Mitchie also had a job to worry about and Ariana seemed to have no problem adjusting to new things and making new friends, most of time time anyways.

"No, Lex you need to take it, the only worry I have is finding another job, I don't want to leave all the money making to you." Mitchie replied.

"My boss told me that she would help you find another job too, she even said they had a house lined up for us if that was a worry too, she wanted it to be as easy a transition for everyone as possible." Alex told her as Mitchie let out an audible sigh of relief.

"Then I say take it, honey I'm so proud of you." Mitchie said as she gave Alex yet another bone crushing hug.

"How do you think Ari's going to take it?" Mitchie asked. Alex bit her lip slightly.

"I don't know, it will definitely be hard for her to leave her friends, especially Jaiden." Alex replied.

"Well how about we talk to her once the babies go to bed and hopefully she'll handle it well." Mitchie suggested. Right now Ariana was up in the playroom with the twins so the two mothers were alone for the time being.

"Sounds good to me." Alex agreed. After their discussion was over the mothers worked on dinner for the next hour or so and soon after dinner they but Anna and Trenton to bed, leaving Ariana the only child up.

"Ari, honey, can we talk to you quickly?" Alex asked. The little girl looked away from the TV and moved over to her mothers.

"What about?" Ariana asked. Alex and Mitchie looked at each other, not exactly sure how to begin the all-important conversation.

"Well today mama's boss talked to her and gave her a bigger, better job." Mitchie started.

"Really? That's so cool!" Ariana said giving her mother a hug.

"Good job mama!" the little girl exclaimed which made both Alex and Mitchie giggle.

"Thank you baby. But there is one thing my boss wants me to do since I got the job." Alex added.

"What's that?" Ariana asked.

"He wants me to work in Dallas, you know where we go every summer to visit everyone?" Alex said. Ariana nodded.

"Well since he wants me to work there that means we have to move."

"Move away? But I like it here!" Ariana said with a slight whine. She had lived in New York all her life, she couldn't fathom living in another place, even if she was slightly familiar with it.

"I know you do baby, so do I, but this job will help us out a lot, and you'll still be able to talk to all your friends here, and make new ones in Dallas." Alex assured her. With a slight sigh Ariana told her mother she was fine with the move and Alex gave her daughter a kiss in appreciation for her (somewhat) positive attitude towards the move. After Alex had went to her boss the next day and accepted his offer the next three weeks were filled with packing and preparing for the big move (which thankfully Alex's boss was more than happy to help them with, and having a house ready was an added bonus) . When Alex had told Alison and Chase they were both excited for their friends but of course the two older children were a little upset to know they would have to leave each other soon. For her co-operation and to have a chance to have a real goodbye with her friends Alex allowed Ariana to have all her friends over for a goodbye party the night before they were due to leave. A total of 10 guests were in attendance and they were all currently in the Russo's backyard taking turns on the trampoline (which they would be taking down by the end of the night so it could be packed up with everything else). Three of the children were just finishing their turn and were trading off with three of the other children.

"Okay, Ari, Jaiden and Emily's turn!" Chelsie said as she, Rachel and Everlie got off the trampoline and let the other three children go on.

" Okay let play flip the bacon." Ariana suggested as she lay flat on her back. Flip the bacon was her absolute favourite trampoline game

"Jai, you gotta flip me and Emily."

"This is gunna be easy." The 10 year old said with a slight grin as he jumped wildly around the trampoline trying to flip the other two girls. At first the two girls were impossible to move, Jaiden had his work cut out for him that was sure, but after a bit Ariana had loosened up and was sent slightly into the air, flipping her over as she landed with a giggle. Emily stayed stiff as a stone as Jaiden continued to try and flip her and after a long attempt he was finally successful in flipping both girls over.

"Okay, Tory, Leah and Raven's turn." Ariana said as the three children climbed off and gave the three girls a chance to play on the trampoline. As the children played the adults watched nearby on the deck.

"So you nervous to leave tomorrow?" Alison asked as she gave her daughter a bottle from the diaper bag they brought.

"Yeah, but excited at the same time." Alex replied as she helped Mitchie with getting all the food out for everyone to eat.

"Ari seems to be getting a little nervous too, she doesn't really want to leave her friends."

"Yeah well she's been with them since school started, even if it's only been 3 years it's a long time for them." Alison said. Flipping the final Hamburger Mitchie placed the rest of the food on the table

"Guys if you want the hot dogs and hamburgers are ready." Mitchie called out to the kids. All the kids rushed over to the deck and began grabbing their desired food and found a place on the back lawn where they could all sit together. As the kids sat and talked amongst themselves the adults watched the kids as they ate. For the rest of the night the kids ran around the backyard playing a couple rounds of different variations of tag (TV tag, freeze tag and toilet tag to name a few) and 4 games of red rover before Alex gathered the group to get a picture of all of them.

"Okay, everyone on three say cheese." Alex instructed. The group agreed and waited for their cue.

"1..2…3" Alex counted down as the kids posed together.

"CHEESE!" the group of children shouted with huge smiles on their faces and Alex took the picture. After the picture was taken Alex showed the kids the picture, which all of them loved, and shortly after that the guest's parents arrived to pick them up. The goodbyes proved to be hard but Ariana said goodbye to them all and promised to keep in touch in whichever way they could. After all the kids had left Ariana helped her mothers, aunt and uncle clean up the backyard and finally Alison, Chase, Jaiden and Caitlin left and promised to come by the next morning before the Russo-Torres's were due to leave. Ariana woke up and saw her room completely empty and felt a little sad, she wouldn't be coming back to the house after this. With a slight sigh the 8 year old made her way downstairs where her mothers were already up and getting everything ready for the movers to take everything away. The over all trip to Dallas would be a two day trip and today they would be making it to Alabama before stopping for the night and making the final haul to Dallas late that night. In the midst of Ariana eating breakfast the movers arrived and Ariana watched sadly as they began taking the last of their stuff away and loading it into the back of the truck.

"Ari, you gotta get dressed honey Aunt Ali and Uncle Chase are gunna be here soon." Alex said as Ariana finished breakfast. Ariana went upstairs and changed out of her pyjamas and soon enough Alison, Chase, Jaiden and Caitlin had arrived to say their goodbyes.

"I'm gunna miss you guys so much!" Alison said, barely keeping back her tears as she hugged her friends and gave her god children a kiss each.

"I know, don't worry we'll call as soon as we get everything set up." Alex promised as her friend was in the midst of giving her a bone crushing hug. Meanwhile the two older children sat on the stairs talking, not really wanting to say goodbye to each other.

"I'm really gunna miss you Ari." Jaiden said sincerely to the girl who he had known since he was 2 years old.

"I'm gunna miss you too. I'd rather say here but mama said if I moved in with you she'd miss me too much." Ariana replied with a slight huff. The children talked for the next few minutes until they conversation was broken by Alex.

"Ari, come on honey we gotta go." She called out. With a sad look on her face Ariana looked at Jaiden and the two children made their way over to their parents. As they said their final goodbyes Jaiden boldly kissed Ariana's cheek and gave her a hug before she got into the car with her siblings and mothers. As the car and moving van drove away Ariana looked out the back window and waved goodbye to Jaiden as he began to get further and further away.

**Hey everyone, wow this was finished a whole night early! I'm pretty proud of myself lol. So don't worry, we haven't seen the last of the Reid's, maybe for a little while but not completely.**

**And *sniffs* do I smell some drama on the way? *sniffs again* hmm…guess we'll see ;)**

**R&R my wonderful readers**


	43. Chap 42

**Chapter 42: New School, New House**

Two days after leaving New York the Russo-Torres's arrived at their new home in Dallas, Texas and were immediately in love with their new house. It had all the space they needed and then some, and the layout both inside and outside was amazing. Unpacking didn't take as long as they had thought it would, which was a great thing as far as they were concerned, and after having a short time to do school shopping for Ariana and getting the twins signed up for daycare everyone was up bright and early on September 4th , the first day at either a new job, new school, or daycare.

Ariana was woken up at around 6:45 and headed downstairs where her mothers were already eating breakfast and drinking their coffee. The oldest Russo Child ate her breakfast in silence and thought about how her first day at a new school would go. Would the kids be nice to her because she was the new kid? What were the teachers like? Many questions flustered the child's mind as she ate her breakfast and soon her mother told her it was time to start getting ready. Heading up to her room, Ariana chose her new pink summer dress and had her hair put into a neat ponytail before adding her pink converse to the outfit and her mother brought her up to the bus stop up the street.

"Mama, my tummy hurts." Ariana complained, the nerves of starting a new school finally settling in.

"You're just a little nervous, it'll be fine honey, I promise." Alex said giving Ariana a re-assuring kiss on her head as the bus pulled up. As the doors opened Ariana let all the other kids go first before saying goodbye to her mother and heading onto the bus. She gave a quick hi to the bus driver before finding an empty seat.

"Hey, that's my seat." An older girl (she looked about 2 years or so older) said as she saw Ariana in her seat.

"What?" Ariana asked looking up at the older girl, slightly intimidated for possibly the first time in her life.

"I said that's my seat." The girl repeated a bit more venom in her voice as she repeated herself.

"Oh, sorry." Ariana mumbled before finding another empty seat just a few rows up. The bus ride seemed to take much too long and when they arrived outside Jameson Elementary. As the kids got off the bus Ariana was shoved aside a few times by some of the older kids and finally made her way off the bus and onto the school grounds. For the first few minutes she walked around and familiarized herself with the school grounds until the bell rang and all the students were asked to meet in the gym so they could find out which class they would be in. After the Pledge of Allegiance and national anthem all the students sat down as the teachers one by one read out their class lists. As the 3rd grade teachers began reading off their lists Ariana waited in anticipation to see who her teacher would be.

"Ariana Russo." The 2nd teacher, Ms. Marx read out. Ariana stood up and joined her class line up and after Ms. Marx was finished reading her class list they headed down to room 31.

"Good morning everyone, hope everyone is excited for their first day back at school." Ms. Marx smiled as her class put their bags at their assigned desks and sat down. Ms. Marx quickly went over the curriculum for the next few weeks before handing everyone a math worksheet and getting her students to work on it as a refresher. Once the worksheet had been completed and Ms. Marx checked to make sure everyone had the right answers they moved on to some spelling words for a bit before the bell rang to signal recess. Ariana began to get out of her seat but was knocked down by one of the boys in her class.

"Hey watch where you're going." The boy called as Ariana still sat on the floor. Dusting herself off Ariana waved off the boys comment and grabbed her jacket and headed out to the playground. As she walked around the school she noticed that there weren't many people who were just by themselves. Everyone seemed to be in their own little group in some way. Just as she was about to just keep walking the school grounds by herself she noticed a girl about her age sitting by herself by one of the school doors.

"Hi." Ariana said walking up to the girl.

"Hi." The girl replied quietly.

"I'm Ariana, what's your name?" Ariana asked.

" Mandy." The girl said as Ariana sat down with her.

"How come you're not playing with anyone?" Ariana asked.

"I'm new here, and I don't really know anyone here." Mandy replied.

"Same, no one's really nice around here." Ariana observed. During class when Ms. Marx was getting the class to read out the answers every time Ariana would raise her hand to give an answer one of the girls, Rebecca if she remembered correctly, would roll her eyes and call Ariana a know it all behind her back.

"Yeah, how come you're talking to me?" Mandy asked.

"I'm new too, and haven't really talked to anyone besides you." Ariana replied. A few seconds of silence passed before Ariana looked over at two empty swings and instantly got an idea.

"Wanna play a swinging game with me?" Ariana asked. Mandy looked up at Ariana curiously.

"What kind of swinging game?" she asked.

"You'll see, race you to those empty swings." Ariana said as she and Mandy raced for the swings. They had just got there when Rebecca and one of her friends, Lauren, pulled the swings away, causing both Mandy and Ariana to fall to the ground.

"Hey, what was that for?" Ariana asked looking up at the two girls currently holding the swings away from them. So far, falling to the ground was getting more annoying every time it seemed to happen that day.

"We were here first." Rebecca said as she and Lauren climbed up on the swings.

"No, we were." Mandy corrected her. Both Rebecca and Lauren just gave the two new girls annoyed looks.

"Too bad, we're here now, just go find other swings." Rebecca said as she began swinging. Ariana sighed as she and Mandy went around the playground and just talked until the bell rang and they headed back to class, sadly although Mandy and Ariana were in the same grade they were in two separate classrooms so the only time they would actually be able to hang out would be during the breaks and after school. When they arrived back in the classroom Ms. Marx had her class talk about their summers and what their favourite part was.

"I got to go to Hawaii with my mom and dad." One girl piped up.

"I went to a football game." Another boy added.

"I had a really fun going away party." Ariana said. Some of the kids looked at her funny, seeing as it was such a small thing to them that was her highlight.

"I got to have all my friends over and we played trampoline games."

"Lame." Rebecca commented quietly so the teacher wouldn't hear making some of her friends giggle slightly. Ariana held in her comment and the rest of the class listed off their highlights of the summer. Lunch time soon arrived and thankfully everyone just sat in their desks and quietly ate their lunch. Ariana was in the midst of grabbing her juice box when Lauren walked by and "accidentally" knocked over Ariana's lunch box.

"Hey!" Ariana exclaimed as her lunch toppled to the ground from her desk.

"Oops, sorry." Lauren said fakely as she continued on her way, making it seem like she was putting something in the garbage. Ariana just took a deep breath and picked up her lunch and continued eating. The kids were allowed going outside and the class had emptied out and Ariana had noticed she forgot her jacket in the classroom. Heading back in to get it she didn't realize that 3 boys: Nathan, Brent and Jonah had stayed behind and decided to play a trick on the new kid while the teacher was out of sight. The boys slammed the door closed and stood on the other side, effectively trapping the new girl inside. Realizing what had just occurred Ariana ran over to the door.

"Hey let me out!" Ariana screeched banging on the door, the boys just snickering on the other side. She continued to hit the door for a few more minutes until the boys finally let in and opened the door, once again making the girl fall to the ground with the opening of the door. The boys laughed as they walked away triumphantly and left Ariana to brush herself off yet again and head outside to find Mandy.

"Hey Ari." Mandy said as she caught up with Ariana by the slide.

"Hey, how's your first day going?" Ariana asked.

"Terrible, this girl in my class, Sarah, keeps knocking my stuff over and saying mean things after I say something to the teacher." Mandy reported.

"That's how Rebecca and Lauren are to me. Lauren knocked over my lunch and when I told Ms. Marx my favourite part of my summer Rebecca called it lame!" Ariana exclaimed.

"I wish we were in the same class, it'd be a lot easier to help each other." Mandy commented as they walked around, hoping to avoid their new found tormenters.

"Yeah, well we can still help each other at recess and lunch." Ariana pointed out.

" That's true. Do you see them anywhere?" Mandy asked. Ariana scoped the playground and saw Rebecca and Lauren by the swings and another girl beside them.

"There's Sarah." Mandy said pointing out the girl beside Lauren and Rebecca.

"Should have known they'd be friends." Ariana commented. The girls continued to walk around the school until the bell rang and when the kids all headed back in.

"Now everyone for homework tonight I want everyone to finish the page of math we were working on earlier this morning for tomorrow." Ms. Marx said. Ariana couldn't believe it, homework…on the first day back? Ms. Myers didn't even do that last year. After dismissing the students for the end of the day all the kids flooded the halls of Jameson Elementary and waited outside for the bus. As Ariana made her way down the hall, Lauren and Rebecca had caught up to her and of course "accidentally" bumped into her, causing Ariana to hit the wall slightly.

"That's getting really annoying." Ariana thought to herself as she rolled her eyes and made her way outside to the front of the school where several buses were already lined up to pick students up. After a 10 minute wait bus 71 pulled up and Ariana rushed up to the bus.

"Hey, wait your turn!" one boy said pushing Ariana out of the way. With a slight sigh Ariana waited before making her way on the bus and taking a seat, this time closer to the front so the bus driver could see anything if one of the kids tried anything. When they arrived at the bus stop about 20 minutes later Alex was already waiting for her daughter with Anna and Trenton on either side of her.

"Awi!" the twins shrieked happily, causing Ariana to genuinely smile for the first time that day.

"How was your first day honey?" Alex asked. Not really wanting to tell her mother about the mean girls at school, Ariana decided to keep that out.

"It was fine, I played with my new friend Mandy at lunch and recess." Ariana reported as she took Trenton's hand and helped him walk back to the house while Alex held Anna's hand.

"That's great honey." Alex smiled.

"So you like your new school?" Again, Ariana thought it was best just to not tell her mother about everything else.

"Yeah, I really like it." The girl said yet again putting on a fake smile, not realizing that that day was just the beginning of a very long school year

**Hey everyone, hope you enjoy this chap. This week seriously feels like it took forever and a half to pass by, but YAY its Friday!**

**R&R my lovely readers**


	44. Chap 43

**Chapter 43: The 6****th**** Russo**

For the next few weeks, school didn't seem to get much easier for Ariana. Yes, she was one of the brightest students in the class (Ms. Marx told her that constantly) but Rebecca and Lauren continued to make life a living nightmare for her, more so when teachers were out of sight and couldn't do a thing. It was unusual for Ariana to not be able to stand up for herself, usually she had no troubles standing up to others, but being in a new town and not knowing anyone brought out a side that made it hard for her to do so. Mandy was still Ariana's only friend at Jameson Elementary even though she had tried a few times to make friends with some of the other kids at school. After a week at school Ariana and Mandy had a sleepover and discussed what it was like being the new kids and just getting to know each other a little more. Alex so far, loved her job, everyone there was great and easy to get along with, and being the cool boss in everyone's eyes was just an added bonus. The same went for Mitchie; she loved her job at The Fuse, one of the top restaurants in Dallas. All her co-workers were really nice and always made work fun whenever she had to go in. The twins, according to the daycare worker, were doing really well and didn't seem to have any problem playing with all the other kids and making new friends.

Now, it was just near the end of September and as per usual Ariana was woken up at quarter to 7 and headed downstairs for breakfast.

"Ari, today I'm just going to be picking you up after school so you don't need to catch the bus." Alex said handing her daughter her bowl of cereal.

"Okay, how come?" Ariana asked putting a spoonful of cereal into her mouth.

"It's a surprise, you'll find out after school." Alex said with a sly smile, only making her daughter all the more confused. With a nod, Ariana finished her breakfast and rushed upstairs to get ready. As Ariana went to get ready, Alex and Mitchie talked about the plans for later that afternoon.

"Remember to pack the camera, you know the reaction is gunna be priceless." Mitchie commented with a slight chuckle, just imagining her daughter's reaction to her surprise later on. She wanted to go with them but she would be working at the restaurant until 5:30 so she wouldn't be able to make it in time. As they continued to talk they heard their oldest daughter come down the stairs and they quickly broke out of the discussion so they didn't let anything slip.

"Ready to go honey?" Alex asked as her daughter re-entered the kitchen.

"Yup." Ariana confirmed as she slung her backpack over her shoulder.

"Okay, see you later sweetie." Mitchie said giving her daughter a kiss.

"Bye mommy." Ariana said as she and Alex headed out the door. Alex reminded Ariana yet again that she would be there after school and once the bus pulled up Alex gave her daughter a kiss before letting her head on the bus and waved goodbye. Ariana sat on the bus quietly, which was a switch from when she had Chelsie to sit and talk with back in New York, and waited for the bus to arrive outside Jameson Elementary. When the bus pulled up, yet again Ariana was shoved to the side as all the other kids made their way off the bus. Instantly, Ariana searched for Mandy around the playground and it seemed to take little to no time at all to spot her.

"Mandy!" Ariana called out from a fair distance away. Mandy looked up from where she was and raced over to her friend.

"Hey, So my mama said we couldn't have our sleepover this weekend, but maybe next weekend." Ariana said as the girls walked around. The girls wanted to have a sleepover that night, a Friday, but Alex said they couldn't due to the surprise later on.

"Okay, how come?" Mandy asked. Ariana proceeded to tell her friend about why they had to switch the sleepover dates and they switched ideas on what the surprise could be until the bell rang to head in.

"Good morning everyone." Ms. Marx greeted as her students filled the classroom.

" Good morning Ms. Marx." Everyone responded.

"Now how about we all continue working on our words for the in class spelling bee this morning?" Ms. Marx said. About a week earlier, Ms. Marx had decided to have an in class spelling bee to work on the kids spelling. The kids looked over the list of words for the next few minutes and waited for Ms. Marx to call the class up.

"Okay everyone, please come up to the front." Ms. Marx said as all 25 students lined up at the front of the class room. Ariana was excited for this in class spelling bee, spelling was her strong point and she was positive she would be able to win this thing.

"Okay Dianna, could you spell frail for me?" Ms. Marx asked. The little girl scrunched her face in concentration.

"F-R-A-I-L." the little girl said. Ms. Marx smiled.

"That's correct. Now Rebecca can you spell contain for me?"

"C-O-N-T-A-N-E." Rebecca said, positive she had gotten it right. Ariana corrected the girl in her head as Ms. Marx spoke up.

"I'm sorry Rebecca, its C-O-N-T-A-I-N." Ms. Marx corrected her as the little girl took her seat. Ms. Marx had made it through all her students and so far only 3 remained. Ariana, Lauren and Richard. All three of the students had gotten all 5 of their words right and neither of them seemed to be stumbling at any words they were getting.

"Okay Richard, could you spell Method for me?" Ms. Marx asked. The little boy looked slightly nervous as he took a stab at the word.

"M-E-T-H-I-D." Richard said. Ariana cheered in her head. She was one of the final two!

"I'm sorry, its an O instead of an I." Ms. Marx said.

"Okay, it's between Ariana and Lauren, whoever spells this word right first wins the in class spelling bee." Ms. Marx said. Both girls got ready for their word.

"Okay Lauren you first, the word is responsible." Ms. Marx said. Lauren thought hard before beginning to spell the word.

"R-E-S-P-O-N-S-A-B-L-E." Lauren recited, like Rebecca she was confident she had gotten the word right.

"I'm sorry Lauren, that's incorrect. Ariana if you get this word right you're the winner." Ms. Marx said. Ariana smiled knowing she had this word in the bag.

"R-E-S-P-O-N-S-I-B-L-E" Ariana said, stressing the I so Lauren could see where she had made her mistake.

"Congratulations Ariana, you're our in class spelling bee winner." Ms. Marx said with a smile. Ariana beamed as a few of her classmates clapped for her as she took her seat, and of course to get revenge Rebecca stuck out her foot slightly, causing Ariana to trip on the way to her desk, which made all of her classmates that saw laugh.

"Oops, sorry." Rebecca said with not an ounce of sincerity in her voice. Ariana just rolled her eyes and made her way back to her desk. As the class worked on their spelling worksheets, Ariana waited patiently for the recess bell to ring so she could tell Mandy about her spelling bee win. Finally her prayers were answered and the bell rang. Ariana rushed out the door and went to find her friend.

" Mandy guess what!" Ariana exclaimed.

"What?" Mandy asked as Ariana rushed over to her.

"I won our in class spelling bee!" Ariana said happily. Both girls jumped and yay-ed over the good news.

"That's awesome." Mandy smiled as she and Ariana walked around the school grounds.

"Yeah, I was against Lauren and she spelled responsible wrong." Ariana said.

"I let you have that word." Ariana and Mandy heard from behind them.

"Sure you did." Ariana said looking at her classmate, getting sick of the games she and Rebecca were playing.

"I did, I could have spelled that word in my sleep." Lauren said.

" Then why didn't you spell it right and win the spelling bee?" Ariana asked.

"Cause I felt sorry for you, loser has to get something." Lauren replied, venom in her voice.

"Come on Ari, let's just go." Mandy said taking her friends hand and taking her away from the girl.

"Thanks, her and Rebecca are getting really annoying." Ariana said taking a deep breath as she and Chelsea continued their walk around the school.

"Yeah, so is Sarah, today she knocked over my pencil case when I went to grab a pencil to do my spelling test." Mandy said remembering her classmate's immature behaviour earlier that morning.

" What's with those three anyways? Do they have nothing else better to do?" Ariana asked Mandy.

"Doesn't seem like it. It's really annoying." Mandy replied.

"Tell me about it." Ariana said. With that the bell rang and the girls hugged goodbye before heading back to class. Of course for the rest of the day Ariana continued to push passed Rebecca and Lauren's snarky comments and stupid games until 3:00 when Alex was waiting outside to pick Ariana up with Trenton and Anna.

"Hey honey how was your day?" Alex asked.

"Good, I won our in class spelling bee." Ariana said with a smile.

"That's great honey." Alex said giving her daughter a hug.

"Okay, now off so you can see your surprise." Alex smiled as she started up the car and they drove away from the school. They continued down the road and out of town a little ways and Ariana was slightly confused on where they were going and what the surprise could be.

"Mama, where are we going?" Ariana asked, not familiar at all with the place they were headed.

"You'll see in a few minutes." Alex replied, eyeing the area and guessing how far they were from their destination. After about 15 minutes they pulled up outside a large house on the outskirts of Dallas and Alex got the twins out of the car and Ariana helped Anna walk up the stairs while Alex assisted Trenton. As they made their way up to the house Ariana became more and more curious as they knocked on the door and waited for an answer. Finally after a few seconds a woman about Alex's age opened the door.

"Hey Alex." The woman smiled as soon as she saw her co-worker.

"Hey Carly." Alex replied.

"Carly, this is my daughter Ariana, Ari this is mama's friend Carly." Alex introduced.

" Hi." Ariana said shyly, not wanting to take chances with new people after her experience at school.

"So Ari, you ready for your big surprise?" Carly asked. Ariana nodded and Carly led the 4 Russo's down the hall and into the backyard. Alex anxiously awaited her daughter's reaction as soon as the sound of barking hit their ears. When Carly opened the patio door, 7 Golden Retriever puppies along with their mother came running onto the deck and bombarded the girls and Trenton.

"Puppies!" Ariana exclaimed as she began playing with the dogs.

"Yep, and one of them gets to be yours." Carly said. Ariana looked at her mother and Carly in shock. She had been begging her mother's for a dog for nearly a year now and so far to no avail.

"Really?" the 8 year old exclaimed. Both women chuckled and nodded. Alex let the twin's pet the puppies and Ariana looked around at the puppies that surrounded her, trying to figure out which one she wanted. As she looked around the group of puppies she noticed one particularly fluffy puppy playing not too far away from the rest of the group. Leaving the other puppies she went to play with the other dog and as soon as the puppy noticed her it came running over to her and Ariana giggled and pet it.

"You like her?" Carly asked from the patio stairs. Ariana smiled and nodded as she continued to pet the dog. It was like an instant connection between the two.

" I want her." Ariana confirmed as she continued to play with the puppy. After getting everything settled with Carly (and a few pictures for memories sake) Alex and Ariana thanked Carly and they all headed back to the car, Ariana holding the new puppy by its leash happily.

"Come on Penny." Ariana said trying to get the puppy into the car.

"Penny huh?" Alex asked as the new puppy jumped into the backseat with Ariana. Alex was amazed that not even 10 minutes of owning the dog Ariana had her name chosen, although she shouldn't have been all that surprised Ariana had wanted a dog for a long time.

"Yeah, she looks like a Penny." Ariana said as she buckled her seat and her mother started the car.

"So what did you think of your surprise?" Alex asked as they made their way back home.

"I love it, thank you mama." Ariana smiled as she pet Penny who was now lying on the floor of the car. When they arrived home Ariana right away brought Penny to the backyard where she played with her until dinner time when they had to head back in. By the time bed time had arrived Ariana wanted Penny to sleep with her but Alex and Mitchie told her that Penny would have to stay in her Kennel for the first little bit until she was house broken.

"Night Penny." Ariana said giving her new dog a hug goodnight and headed upstairs with Mitchie and Alex.

**Hey everyone, so I'm proud of myself yet again, I was done this chap like 3 days early! Think I was gunna see if I could write all of this week's chapters in a weekend, you'll find out Friday if I was successful. And the way Ariana's dealing with the bullies is kind of out of character, but it's based off my own experiences when I was little, I totally changed from being able to stand my ground to being totally vulnerable when it came to bullies. So that's why she's changed quite a bit**

**R&R! oh and if you wanna see what Penny looks like, check out my profile. **


	45. Chap 44

**Chapter 44: Ariana Gets Glasses**

After September's end the next month's flew by like nothing. Ariana spent most of her time at home playing with Penny in the backyard or helping Alex and Mitchie train her, which kept her mind off of Rebecca and Lauren's constant bullying that showed no signs of stopping. Ariana had thought many times of telling her mother's about what was going on but something in her mind made her think telling them and having them tell the principal would only make everything worse, so she continued to keep everything quiet and try her best to grin and bear it. And she had actually managed to make a few more friends in class, a girl named Violet came and asked Ariana and Mandy if she could play with them, soon followed by a girl named Ava and another named Charlotte.

Now the mid days of January had arrived and Ariana was just getting off the bus at school. She had begun to notice that she was having a harder time seeing the board, resulting in her having to sit at the front row of the class every day, and had a difficult time seeing things that were further away. Since she was able to see things if she got closer Ariana didn't think anything of it until a few weeks later when the school nurse said each grade would be called down for a routine eye exam. When Ms. Marx's 3rd grade class went down Ariana kept hoping she would pass that way she wouldn't have to result to glasses, which would only give Rebecca and Lauren yet another reason to make fun of her. The class made their way down to the nurse's office and lined up in alphabetical order outside the door. All the children waited in line for their turn. Ariana was finally up next and Nurse Karen told Ariana where to stand and asked her to read off the chart in front of her.

"E... F, P... T O Z..." Then she trailed off, no matter how hard she tried to continue on. The words were just a bunch of black splotches at that point

"Good, keep going." Nurse Karen encouraged. "You're doing great sweetie."

"Um..." The oldest Russo struggled. "T... B... F... M... R..."

"It's okay honey, that's good enough." Nurse Karen said. Ariana sighed, knowing she hadn't done well by the look on Nurse Karen's face. Nurse Karen handed Ariana an envelope with her name on it and after telling her to give it to her mother the child left the room and waited with everyone else who had already gone. It was about 20 minutes later when everyone had finished their exams and it looked like 90 percent of the class had passed. Heading back to class Ms. Marx gave the children a seating change to accommodate those children who were having issues seeing the board. For the rest of the day Ariana had to sit at the front of the class so she could see the board properly and soon the class was let out for the day.

"Mama, Nurse Karen told me to give this to you." Ariana said taking the note out of her backpack and handing it to her mother. Alex opened the letter and began reading.

_Dear Parent/Guardian,_

_We are sending you this letter to inform you that your son/daughter has failed his/her eye exam..._

"What does it say mama?" Ariana asked as her mother read the letter.

"It says you failed the eye exam Nurse Karen did today, and we have to book an appointment with the eye doctor so you can get glasses." Alex said. Ariana's eyes widened, that was the last thing she wanted.

"No! I don't want glasses!" the little girl shrieked.

"Honey, glasses aren't that bad, I have to wear them too sometimes if I don't wear my contacts." Alex said.

"But kids are gunna make fun of me." The girl exclaimed, almost on the verge of tears she was so upset.

"Ari, the kids aren't going to make fun of you, I'm sure you're not the only one who didn't do well in your class." Alex said giving her daughter a kiss on her head.

"I'm gunna call the eye doctor and make you an appointment." Alex said as her daughter gave an unhappy sigh and went upstairs to play with Anna and Trenton in the playroom. Mitchie arrived home not much longer after and Alex was on the phone with the optometrist, Dr. Marquez booking Ariana's appointment.

"So tomorrow at 2:30? Okay, thank you so much." Alex said as she hung up the phone.

"What's tomorrow at 2:30?" Mitchie asked wrapping her arms around her wife's waist and giving her a kiss.

"Ariana's eye appointment. They did eye exams at school today and she failed so she needs glasses." Alex replied with a sigh.

"Well Dr. Robbins did say when she was born that preemies have a pretty good risk of poor eyesight." Mitchie said, remembering Dr. Robbins words the day Ariana was brought home from the hospital.

"Yeah and my family doesn't exactly have 20/20 vision either." Alex added. Both she and her 2 brothers needed glasses, but they chose to wear contacts instead most of the time.

"She seemed pretty upset when I told her about having glasses; she thinks kids are going to make fun of her."

"I don't think they will. A lot of kids need glasses now it seems like." Mitchie replied.

"Yeah, I just hope she's a bit happier about it tomorrow when we go there." Alex said. Mitchie just gave her wife a kiss.

"She will be, just give her some time." Mitchie assured her. Dinner was soon called and the family sat down to eat then took Penny for a quick walk before calling it a night and the kids were tucked in and put to bed. When the next morning approached Ariana woke up and knew today wouldn't be a very pleasant day. Her mother told her that day she would be picked up early from school so she could go to Dr. Marquez's office and get her glasses. Alex had written a note for Ariana's teacher explaining she would be leaving school a little early to make it to her eye appointment and after getting ready to head out Ariana gave everyone a kiss goodbye and headed out the door with Alex.

"So I'll see you about 20 after 2 okay?" Alex said. Ariana nodded as her mother gave her a kiss goodbye and headed onto the bus. The first part of the morning went fairly slowly, Ms. Marx had the class do a writing worksheet to work on their cursive writing and after recess they did some math and a silent reading time before they broke for lunch.

"I really don't wanna go get glasses." Ariana huffed as she and Mandy sat down on the swings.

" Rebecca and Lauren are just gunna make fun of me more."

"Why don't you tell your mommy or mama?" Mandy asked.

"Cause they'll tell the principal and Rebecca and Lauren will just tease me more and say I'm a tattle tale." Ariana replied. The bell soon rang and the girls headed back to class. The class was in the midst of their art projects when Alex came knocking on the door.

"Ariana, you're mother's here." Ms. Marx said. Ariana reluctantly got out of her seat and grabbed her stuff before heading out to the car with her mother. The ride to Dr. Marquez's office and as soon as they stepped in Ariana stayed quiet until Dr. Marquez called them in.

"Well good afternoon Ariana. I hear that you four failed your eye exam, is that right?"

"Yeah. Now I have to get glasses." Ariana mumbled.

"Don't worry, glasses are no big deal." Dr. Marquez assured her.

"Now I just need you to do a few things for me and we'll see how strong a prescription you need okay?" Dr. Marquez asked. Ariana nodded.

"Okay, first off I'm gunna get you to read the eye chart, just like you did in school." Dr. Marquez said pointing to the chart of letters. Ariana did the best she could to read them but got stuck on the same part as last time.

"Okay, now you're going to sit down, rest your chin on this bar here and look at the hot air balloon inside the machine. It's going to get blurry then clear a few times, but keep your eyes on it, okay?" Dr. Marquez instructed. Ariana nodded as she rested her chin down on the bar and watched the hot air balloon go blurry then crystal clear several times over.

"Okay, now keep looking in the machine and tell me which picture is more clear." Dr. Marquez said.

One or two?"

"Two." Ariana replied

"One or two?"

"Two."

"One or two?"

"One."

"One or two?"

"Two."

"One or two?"

"One."

"Okay, I think we're done here." Dr. Marquez smiled as Ariana lifted her head up from the bar.

"Now you can go pick which glasses you like in the kids section just out in the lobby, and once you pick a pair we can have them ready in about 2 hours."

"Okay thank you." Alex said as she took Ariana's hand.

"Thank you." Ariana said as she and her mother headed out to the lobby to look at frames. They had dozens of frames in the kids section and they were all sorted out by color. It took about 10 minutes but finally Ariana had chosen her glasses, they were black square shaped glasses that had two purple lines on each of the sides.

"Honey, those look great on you." Alex smiled. After looking in the mirror Ariana decided that those would be the glasses she would get. While they waited for Ariana's glasses to be ready, Alex took Ariana out for some ice cream and headed over to the daycare to pick up the twins. By 5 o'clock they headed back to Dr. Marquez's office and the glasses were ready.

"How do they feel?" Alex asked as Ariana took her glasses out of her case and put them on, everything becoming clearer once she put the glasses on.

"I can see!" Ariana exclaimed causing her mother to chuckle.

"That's good." Alex smiled.

"Now about we head home and show mommy?" Alex suggested.

"Okay, Penny too!" Ariana said as she took her mother's hand and they headed back to the car. When they arrived home Mitchie was just pulling up and Ariana got out of the car and showed Mitchie her new glasses.

"Great glasses honey." Mitchie smiled once her daughter had leaped into her arms. Ariana thanked her for the compliment and they all headed inside and Ariana ran over to Penny's kennel and opened it to let her out, along with showing Penny her new glasses. The adjustment to having glasses was easier than she imagined and the next day Ariana was actually fairly proud of her new glasses, more so because Alex had opted to wear hers that day also, making her daughter feel better about having to wear her glasses. So when the next morning arrived she proudly placed her glasses on and headed downstairs to get some breakfast and quickly rushed to get dressed and had her mother do her hair in a ponytail before heading out to the bus.

"I'll see you after school honey." Alex said giving her daughter a kiss as the bus pulled up.

"Okay, bye!" Ariana said as she went and took her seat on the bus. As the bus made its way over to the school Ariana began getting a little nervous about being teased about her glasses, yes she had begun to love them, but in the back of her mind she knew it would be another thing Rebecca and Lauren could tease her for. Taking a deep breath Ariana stepped off the bus and onto the school grounds of Jameson Elementary and looked around for Mandy.

"Oh look, loser's become four eyes." Rebecca laughed as she made her way over to Ariana.

"Leave me alone Rebecca." Ariana said trying to make her way past Rebecca but with no luck. As Ariana continued to try and get away Rebecca shoved Ariana over to the side, knocking her glasses of in the process. One of the teachers walking around noticed Ariana on the ground getting her glasses and went over to see what had happened.

"What's going on girls?" the teacher asked.

"Oh, Ari fell and dropped her glasses." Rebecca said, Ariana looked up at the girl and decided the best thing was to just go with the lie.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ariana replied. The teacher helped her clean off her glasses and Ariana rushed off to find Mandy so Rebecca could do anything else.

**Hey everyone!, **

**So far my plan on finishing all this week's chaps in one weekend is going well! Off to finish Friday's chap! Oh and I calculated when this story will be done if I keep on the track I'm going, the end date should be June 15 by my calculations. Hope y'all enjoy this chap!**

**R&R! and check out my oneshot Hey Alexandra while you're at it =)**


	46. Chap 45

**Chapter 45: Birthday Surprise**

January came and went, so did February, March and April and now May had arrived, much to Ariana's dismay. Normally, she would look forward to her birthday, and the birthday party that soon followed. Usually, she would wake up that morning and be insanely excited that she was now a year older and love the new privileges that came with that.

But, this year she woke up that May 3rd morning less than enthused about her 9th birthday.

It wasn't that she wasn't excited about being a year older, she was, and the fact she had the day off school made it all the better, but she didn't have the usual people she liked to celebrate with. Yes, she still had Mandy, Charlotte and Ava but they weren't Rachel, Chelsie, Everlie, Emily and Jaiden (Jaiden most of all though).

"Happy Birthday honey." Alex said giving her daughter a kiss. Ariana smiled slightly and continued eating her breakfast. Noticing her daughter not being all that enthused, Alex became worried.

"What's wrong Ari? Usually you love your birthday." Alex asked, not used to her daughter's off behaviour.

"I miss my friends in New York." Ariana replied.

"Like Rachel and Chelsie and Everlie and Emily and Jaiden. I wanna have my birthday with them."

"What about Mandy, Ava and Charlotte?" Alex asked.

"They aren't my friends in New York." Ariana replied.

"Well how about this, next year for your birthday we take a trip to New York and you can spend it with Rachel, Chelsie, Everlie and Emily." Alex proposed, making her daughter's eyes widen and a huge smile made its way onto her face.

"Okay!" Ariana smiled, finally enjoying her birthday as she ate her breakfast contently.

"Happy birthday baby." Mitchie greeted as she came downstairs with the twins and gave Ariana a kiss.

"Thank you." Ariana said with a smile.

"Lex, can I talk to you for a second?" Mitchie asked. Heading into the living room and making sure the birthday girl was listening in, the two mothers began talking.

"So, is everything ready for later?" Alex questioned. They had been hatching a plan for the last couple weeks and it was due to begin later that night.

"Yep, Ali just called and said they'd be here around 5." Mitchie replied. Since they had moved to Dallas, Mitchie and Alex could tell that Ariana was missing everyone back in New York, mainly the Reid's, so three weeks ago Alison and Alex had come up with a plan to surprise Ariana with a visit for her birthday (the Reid's also had another surprise for the entire Russo-Torres clan but they were saving that for later).

"Okay good, this is seriously going to be great; she was just saying how much she missed her friends in New York." Alex said.

"She's gunna freak."

"Who's gunna freak?" Ariana asked as she came into the living room to ask her mother's if the dishwasher was clean or dirty so she knew where to put her cereal bowl.

"No one honey." Alex said, causing her daughter to look at her with a look of confusion.

"We better get ready to go honey; we still need to grab some things for dinner tonight." Alex said quickly trying to change the subject. Ariana ran upstairs and after quickly changing she, her mothers and siblings headed out the door and over to the store to grab things for dinner that night. Since she didn't really feel like a huge celebration Ariana wasn't going to have a huge party like the years before, just her, her mothers and siblings ( as far as she knew) having a nice dinner at home. After picking up all the ingredients for dinner and stopping along the way for some birthday ice cream, the girls made their way back to the house and while Ariana kept the twin's entertained (mostly by playing dress up with them and giving her mother's a fashion show with play clothing) and by no time 5 o'clock had arrived and everyone was gathered around the table as Mitchie brought out Ariana's cake after a dinner of Hamburgers and Hot Dogs.

_Happy birthday to you_

_Happy birthday to you_

_Happy birthday dear Ari_

_Happy birthday to you_

Everyone clapped (the twins did the best they could) as Ariana thought of a wish and blew out all of her candles in one breath. A little while later as Ariana was opening one of her parents Alex heard a vehicle pull up and both she and Mitchie knew exactly who it was.

"I'll be right back." Alex said as she made her way over to the door and saw her friends getting out of the car. Since their arrival was supposed to be a surprise, the girls reunion was downsized and quieted so Ariana wouldn't hear anything and after getting a quick hug from everyone Alex made sure they were all quiet and they headed into the kitchen.

"So we heard it was someone's birthday today." A familiar voice rang through Ariana's ears in the midst of tearing off wrapping paper from her new Guitar case her mother's had gotten her. With a huge smile on her face she turned around and saw Alison with a now 20 month old Caitlin in her arms and Chase not following far behind.

"AUNT ALI!" Ariana screeched with happiness as she rushed over to Alison and after passing off Caitlin to Chase, she leaped into Alison's arms.

"Happy Birthday munchkin." Alison said giving Ariana a huge bear hug and kissed her temple.

"Hey, what about me?" Chase asked causing the birthday girl to giggle and run into Chase's arms as well. As Ariana was in the midst of giving Chase a hug Jaiden stepped through the door with a present bag in his hands. The little girl's eyes widened and a face eating smile come over her face.

"JAIDEN!" Ariana jumped out of Chase's arms and ran over to the older boy and gave him a huge hug, her brown curls bouncing as she rushed over to the other side of the room and hugged him. The two hugged for a few more seconds and finally broke apart.

"So what do you think of your little surprise honey?" Alex asked with a slight laugh at the still shocked look on her daughters face.

"I love it!" Ariana exclaimed with a huge smile across her face. After quickly catching up with everyone Jaiden and Ariana went into the backyard and began playing on the swing set and threw at couple of Penny's toys for her.

"When did you get your glasses?" Jaiden asked.

"A while ago, I don't really like having to wear them though, a lot of people tease me 'cause I have to wear them." Ariana said looking down at the ground.

"Well I like them, and don't listen to anyone who makes fun of you, they're just jealous." Jaiden said, causing the younger girl to crack a smile. The two kids continued swinging and Ariana looked in through the window and saw her mother's and Aunt Alison freaking out happily over something.

"I wonder what Aunt Ali said to them, mama looks really excited." Ariana said as she watched with a confused look on her face.

"Oh, she probably told her the surprise." Jaiden replied.

"What surprise?" Ariana asked, now extremely curious as to what was going on.

"My mom and dad said that at the end of the school year we're moving here, she said she missed you guys too much and she knew you guys missed us too." Jaiden replied.

"Really? You guys are moving here?" Ariana exclaimed. Jaiden could only chuckle and nod before Ariana tackled him once again in a huge hug.

"And I did miss you guys, I told mama next year I wanted to be in New York for my birthday, it's more fun there cause I actually have friends there." Ariana said.

"You don't have any friends here?" Jaiden asked.

"Kinda, I have 4 but they aren't like my friend's in New York. No one here is very nice, they're all really mean to me." Ariana said quietly.

"Don't worry, if they wanna pick on you they got me to deal with." Jaiden replied causing Ariana to giggle.

" Thanks Jai." Ariana smiled.

"Ari, Jai can you guy's come here for a minute?" Alex asked. The two kids made their way off the swing and over to Alex.

" Ari do you think you could go check the mail, maybe take Penny for a quick walk up the street?" Alex asked. The mailbox for everyone on the street was a few houses up and usually Ariana went up with Penny every day to both take Penny for a quick walk and check the mail. The distance wasn't that far so Alex trusted Ariana would be safe walking by herself

"Okay." Ariana said as she grabbed Penny's leash from the hanger. She was just about to open the door when she managed to see 3 boys playing up the street from the living room window.

" I don't want to bring Penny for a walk now." Ariana said to Jaiden after she had noticed the 3 boys playing up the road.

"Why not Ari? It's just a short walk." Jaiden told her.

"But Jonah, Nathan, and Brent are playing down the street and they always pick on me." Ariana pouted. Noticing the nervousness in his friend's expression he began to open the door and took Penny's leash from Ariana.

" Just ignore them. And if they try to pick on you they'll have me to deal with." Jaiden promised. Ariana hesitated a bit but about 20 minutes later the kids were heading out the door to walk Penny. They had just made it down the road when they saw the three boys playing basketball.

"Haha look guys its four eyes." The oldest boy, Jonah, said. Ariana kept her head down as Jaiden grabbed her hand and held it tight. The two kids kept walking past them as the three boys continued to shout out

"Four eyes!" As they walked. Jaiden looked at his friend and could tell it was getting to her.

"Guys just knock it off!" Jaiden snapped.

"What you going to do about it loser?" Nathan asked. That was all it took to send Jaiden off the deep end. He handed Ariana Penny's leash and Jaiden ran at the boys and tackled Nathan to the ground. Thankfully the boys were playing on the grass so it wasn't a very hard fall but Jaiden took his fist and balled it up and started hitting, giving Nathan a bloody nose. Jonah and Brent tried to free Nathan from Jaiden but they ended up just getting caught in the cross fire, getting punched wherever Jaiden's hand hit. Ariana ran over and pulled Jaiden off Nathan and told Jaiden to cut it out.

"NO! LET ME GO!" the 11 year old exclaimed, still swinging his fists hoping to hit one of the boys. Ariana grabbed one of his hands and the two kids, along with Penny, ran back up the street to Ariana's house.

"What did you do that for?" Ariana asked, a little out of breath from running.

"They were making fun of you! What else was I supposed to do?" Jaiden answered.

" Ignoring it would be a good idea." Ariana said.

"But thanks for sticking up for me." Ariana said trying to hide a slight smile.

"What are friends for?" Jaiden smiled.

"Hey guys, back so soon?" Alison asked as she and the other adults sat on the couch and chatted. Jaiden and Ariana nodded as he took Penny off the leash and he and Ariana headed upstairs to her room. A few minutes later a knock was heard at the door. Ariana looked out her window and saw Nathan standing there with his mom and a wet cloth covering his nose, probably to stop the bleeding.

"Uh oh." Ariana said as she waited to see what would happen. Jaiden ran to the window and looked and a look of panic crossed his face before his mother's voice tore through the house.

"Jaiden Mathieu Ried! Come here right now young man!" Alison called. Jaiden cowered a bit as he headed down the stairs, Ariana following not far behind so she could help defend Jaiden before he got into too much trouble for what he had done.

**So there y'all have it, The Reid's are back! Thought I'd give ya some Jariana cuteness since it feels like forever since the last time I wrote about them. So I hope y'all enjoy this chap and I have a quick question for ya**

**What would you guys think of me writing a behind the chapters thing? Like little drabbles of whats happened between the chapters in both LATP and LWA. It wouldn't be until this story is finished but I wanted your guy's opinion, it's just an idea I had in my head. **

**R&R!**


	47. Chap 46

**Chapter 46: Welcome Reid's!**

The week-long stay of the Reid's went by much faster than anyone had wanted. The Russo-Torres's loved having their friends back for a while (especially Jaiden and Ariana who had missed each other dearly) but sadly the 7 days went by with lightning speed. The two families shared tearful goodbye's and as soon as they had found out the date they would be moving down to Dallas Ariana quickly started a countdown to when they would arrive. The end of the school year came and usually on the last day of school Ariana was a little sad but this year she felt a huge sense of relief knowing she wouldn't be surrounded by Rebecca and Lauren who didn't show any signs of ending their torment on the innocent new girl. As the black X's on her calendar came closer to the bright red circle that showed the date of the Reid's arrival(4 days after the twin's third birthday, July 16th) Ariana became more and more anxious for the day to arrive.

Finally, 2 months and 13 days after their visit to Dallas for Ariana's birthday, it was finally the day of the Reid's arrival.

Thankfully, they were moving just a few houses down so seeing that they had arrived wouldn't be a problem. Ariana woke up at around 7:30 and after she had eaten breakfast she quickly got dressed and waited eagerly by the living room window and watched for the familiar car to come down the street.

"Awi, pyay bwocks wif me?" Trenton asked holding up some of his toy blocks to his older sister.

"I'm waiting for Jaiden Trent, I can't play blocks right now." Ariana said as the three year old frowned slightly.

"Honey, just play for a little bit. They won't be here till almost lunch time anyways." Alex said as she brought Anna into the living room after getting her changed.

"Okay." Ariana said as she got off the love seat and began playing blocks with Trenton, and Anna when she decided to join in with her siblings. After building a castle several times over (Anna thought it would be a good idea for her toy cat to act as Godzilla and destroy the castle) a loud vehicle could be heard coming down the street followed by a Silver Honda that trailed not far behind.

"They're here!" Ariana shrieked as she quickly got her purple flip flops on and made her way out the door.

"Ari, wait please." Mitchie called out from the front door. The eldest Russo child slightly huffed but did as she was told and as soon as her mothers and brother and sister had made their way out the door Ariana rushed down the street where Alison and Jaiden had just gotten out of the car and Chase was working on getting Caitlin out of her Car seat.

"Jai!" Ariana shrieked and giggled as she tackled the boy to the ground in a hug. Seeing their daughter and Jaiden on the ground both Alex and Mitchie couldn't help but laugh as they made their way to the Reid's new house and gave their friends a hug.

"Hey how was the drive up?" Alex asked as she and Alison broke out of their hug.

"Good, Jaiden was really excited to get here and Caitlin did a lot better than last time." Alison replied. When they had come down in May, Caitlin had some car sickness issues causing her parents to stop every once in a while to clean up the poor toddler who only burst into tears for a while after she had gotten sick, thinking she was in trouble.

"Well that's good, Hey Caity boo." Alex said as she was handed Caitlin and the little girl just giggled.

"Hii." The little girl giggled and Alex just smiled and laughed.

"She is such a riot." Alex commented giving the little girl a kiss on her temple.

"'na?" the little girl asked.

"na? What's na?" Alex questioned.

"'na!" Caitlin exclaimed as she squirmed in Alex's arms and after Alex had let her down the youngest Reid toddled over to Anna who was playing with Trenton on the grass by Mitchie.

"Oh, Anna." Alex said as she watched Alison's daughter go over to Anna and the two quickly started playing with one another.

"Well how about we get this unpacking started?" Alison said as she and the rest of the adults headed over to the moving van while the kids were ushered into the backyard by Mitchie and the adults began moving everything in.

" Did those guys give you any more trouble?" Jaiden asked as he and Ariana played pass with the soccer ball he had brought with him in the car.

"No, I think you scared them off, especially Nathan." Ariana giggled as she stopped the ball and kicked it back over to Jaiden.

"Good, and he started it, he should be scared." Jaiden said with a slight smirk.

"Yeah, but Lauren and Rebecca don't seem to wanna stop. I wish we were gunna be in the same school." Ariana said with a slight frown. Although the 2 year age difference didn't affect their friendship at all, the grades they were in did and Jaiden would be in the middle school a few blocks away and Ariana would be in her last year of elementary school.

"Yeah, but don't worry, next year we will be." Jaiden said with a slight smile.

"Awi! Anna be mean!" Trenton said running up to his sister with a frown on his face.

"Why is she being mean?" Ariana asked looking over at her sister who was playing with Caitlin in the sandbox.

"No let me pyay wif her and Cai." Trenton replied.

"Anna, why won't you let Trenton play with you and Caitlin?" Ariana asked as she walked over to Anna and Caitlin with Trenton and Jaiden.

"My Cai." Anna said as she and Caitlin continued playing with some of the toys they had.

"No, you need to let Trenton play with you guys too, Caitlin's not just your friend." Ariana said.

"No, she jus my fwiend, no Twent." Anna said with a true Alex Russo expression on her face. Sensing her baby sister wasn't going to give up, Ariana let Trenton play pass with them (he didn't do very well but it was better than him being alone) until their mothers called them to figure out lunch.

"What would you guys like for lunch? I'm just gunna run to the store and grab some stuff since the food hasn't been unpacked yet." Alison asked.

"Can we have grilled cheese?" Jaiden asked.

"Yeah, I want grilled cheese too." Ariana added.

"Okay, I'll be right back. Jaiden, Caitlin, be good for daddy, Aunt Alex and Aunt Mitchie." Alison said as she grabbed her keys and gave both her kids a kiss as she left. The kids took a quick look around the house (they had been too busy outside to even think of taking a tour of the new house) they headed back outside for a bit until Alison had returned home and made everyone a grilled cheese and let them run around in the back yard again while the adults continued to bring boxes into the house and unpack what they could.

"Wanna bring Penny for a walk? Soccer's getting boring." Ariana said as she stopped the ball for what felt like the thousandth time.

"Okay, let's just ask your mom and mama." Jaiden replied as they left the backyard and headed inside.

"Mom, can we go walk Penny?" Ariana asked as Mitchie came in with a box in hand.

"Sure, just up the street though." Mitchie said placing the box down in the kitchen. Bringing the kids over to the house Ariana and Jaiden hooked up Penny to her leash and walked her up the road.

"So what is there around here?" Jaiden asked. During his last visit they hadn't made it past where Nathan, Brent and Jonah had been when they picked on Ariana and they rushed back to the house and the other places the Russo-Torres's had shown them.

"Well there's a park up the road and a basketball court beside it. I think there's a skate park a few blocks away but I'm not sure." Ariana replied.

"Wanna stop by the park?" Jaiden asked as he saw the gated area that had a swing set, slide and teeter totter and a few other things up a small hill.

"Sure." Ariana replied as they made their way up the hill and opened the gate and let Penny go before they rushed over to the swings like they always did.

" Bet I can still beat you." Ariana giggled as she began pumping her legs as she tried to get higher and higher into the air.

"No way, I'll beat you." Jaiden said as she tried his best to catch up to the girl but failed Ariana came out the winner.

"Ha! Told you I'd win." Ariana smirked as they both came to a stop. Jaiden just playfully rolled her eyes. The two continued to talk for a few minutes, Jaiden mostly asking questions about what it was like in Dallas, and they were both just lightly swinging watching Penny run around them when they saw a couple walking past the park and the guy leaned in to kiss his girlfriend. Ariana slightly grimaced at the sight.

"Eww, kissing looks so gross." Ariana commented scrunching up her face.

"Why? It doesn't seem that bad, my friend Joey had his first kiss on the last day of school and he said it wasn't bad." Jaiden replied.

"Have you ever kissed anyone?" Ariana asked, slightly hoping he would say no.

"Nope, Joey was making fun of me after he kissed Daylyn cause I hadn't kissed anyone yet." Jaiden replied, not really seeing the point of making fun of someone just because they hadn't kissed someone by age 11.

"Have you kissed anyone yet?" Jaiden asked. Ariana's face turned from a look of wonder into a look of shock almost instantly

"No! That'd be gross!" Ariana exclaimed.

"How do you know that?" Jaiden asked.

"Because! I just do." Ariana said. And without notice…his lips were covering hers. She wasn't sure exactly what to expect, but she found Jaiden's lips were nice and soft and she seemed to be actually enjoying the kiss, despite her original thoughts. She believed she was a bit young for this, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't curious what the big hype about kissing was, even though the concept was still a little weird to her. Their lips parted after only 3 seconds when Penny started barking and the two kids looked at each other, not really saying anything for a second.

"Still think it's gross?" Jaiden asked. The younger girl just blushed violently as Jaiden only smirked, finding it amusing to be on the winning side for once in a battle with "I always win" Ariana.

"Just don't tell my mom and mama." Ariana replied, still a little flustered over what had just happened.

"I wanna go home." Ariana said as she refused to made eye contact with Jaiden. They hopped off the swings and Ariana got Penny's leash back on and they both headed back to Jaiden's house and let Penny run around in the backyard instead of bringing her home.

"Hey guys, what took you so long?" Alex asked as she saw the two kids enter the backyard and let Penny off her leash.

"We went over to the park." Ariana mumbled as she rushed off to see what the twins and Caitlin were up to. Jaiden followed behind her and Alex was left slightly confused.

What had happened at the park that Ariana was acting so strangely?

**Yes, I know they're a little young for a first kiss, but for some reason…I just had to haha. So I hope y'all had a wonderful Valentine's Day, I wanted to do a Valentines theme chap but clearly the timing in the story kept me from doing that, but I did get in some Jariana and Caitanna(yes, the almost 2 and 3 year old have a ship name that I just came up with 2 seconds ago) so I guess it works out? Idk, that's for you to decide**

**R&R my lovely readers!**


	48. Chap 47

**Chapter 47: Summer Camp **

"Ari, come on baby get up, were gunna be late." Alex said shaking her daughter awake. The little girl's eyes opened and she groaned slightly. 7:30 was much too early to be up on a Monday morning during summer vacation. Shortly after the Reid's arrival in Dallas, the kids were complaining of having nothing to do since most kids were on vacation in one place or another and after a while the local pool didn't cut it for entertainment.

So when Mitchie and Alison had come across an ad for a week long summer camp during the day at the community center for kids age 8-12, they signed up Ariana and Jaiden on the spot.

"Do I have to?" Ariana groaned looking up at her mother, still feeling quite tired and not at all wanting to get up.

"Yes, and you've gotta get up, we need to leave in an hour so we have time to get everyone there." Alex said. Like Ariana and Jaiden the twins were going to a summer camp but obviously with a younger group in the same building. With a slight sigh the 9 year old tore off her sheets and headed downstairs where Mitchie and the twins were already waiting for her with breakfast.

"Morning honey." Mitchie said handing her daughter a plate of waffles, bacon and eggs and gave her a kiss on the temple.

"Morning." Ariana mumbled taking a bite of eggs from her plate. After a bit of breakfast Ariana was a little more alive and after helping Mitchie with getting the twins ready Ariana went and got dressed and by then 8:30 had arrived.

"Okay guys, grab your stuff and lets go." Alex said. The three children placed their bags on their shoulders and after giving Mitchie a goodbye hug and kiss Alex and Ariana helped the twins to the car and they all headed off. When they pulled into the parking lot they saw Alison bringing in Jaiden.

"Hey guy's." Alex smiled as she caught up with Alison and Jaiden.

"Hey, you have a hard time getting Ari up and functioning?" Alison asked knowing her friend's daughter wasn't the morning person she used to be.

"Yeah, thankfully the twins were easy to wake up. They're pretty excited, right guys?" Alex asked her two youngest children who only cheered a yes which made Alex and Alison giggle.

" Let's go!" Anna said pulling her mother forward so the two mothers and 4 children headed into the building. The two older children were directed to go to the room down the hallway on the left and the twin's class was down the opposite hallway. Alison taking the older kids and Alex taking the twins they headed down their respective hallways.

"So we'll be back to pick you guys up." Alison said as she gave each of the children a kiss on the cheek before saying goodbye. There seemed to already be a fair amount of kids there and as Ariana and Jaiden looked around a woman in her late teens came over

"Hey guy's I'm Abby and I'm the camp co-ordinatior, along with my friend Michele. If you guys want there's a few hooks for your jackets and bags if you wanna set them down and just meet us over at the table." Abby said as she showed the two children where to put their things. After Jaiden hung up his jacket he went to use the bathroom and as Ariana waited for him the door opened and she slightly groaned at who had just come in.

"Hey four eyes." Rebecca said as she shoved her way past Ariana.

"Rebecca, quit calling me that, I don't like it." Ariana snapped. She had enough of trying to ignore Rebecca and Lauren and she needed to stand up for herself.

"Why should I? You are a four eyes with those stupid glasses." Rebecca replied with venom in her voice.

"No I'm not, how would you like it if you had glasses and I made fun of you?" Ariana asked. Rebecca merely rolled her eyes as Abby came over and gave Rebecca the same speech she had given Ariana and Jaiden and told the two girls to come and sit at the table. When Jaiden had come back from the bathroom the two seats beside Ariana were taken so he sat 2 chairs down from Rebecca and on the other side of the table from Ariana.

"Okay everyone so welcome to your first day of summer camp, I'm Abby as you all know and this is my friend Michele. Since today's our first day together, I want everyone to say there name and give a little piece of information about themselves so we can get to know each other better, nothing too big, just a small bit." Abby began. Pointing to the boy at the front of the table, Damian, the kids began.

"I'm Damian and I really like to play soccer and hockey."

"I'm Hannah, and I just moved here from Boston."

"I'm Natalie and I love riding horses at my aunt Quinn's farm."

A few other kids went and it landed on Jaiden.

"I'm Jaiden and I just moved here with my mom dad and baby sister."

The next few kids went and 5 people later it was Ariana's turn.

"I'm Ariana, but I like Ari better, and I like playing guitar, my mom's teaching me how because she played it a lot when she was little, so did my mama."

Finally everyone had had their turn and Abby and Michele had the kids do an art project, draw or color 5 things that best represent you. As the kids worked on their pictures, Ariana couldn't help but notice the way Rebecca was looking at Jaiden. She could tell Rebecca really liked him and it really annoyed her. Although she couldn't be too annoyed since Jaiden had yet to speak a word to her so she had no real reason to be worried. She continued drawing her 5 things until everyone was done and one by one they were called up. Going alphabetically, Ariana was up first.

"Um, I chose a guitar, because my mom and me have lots of fun when she's teaching me, I drew my dog Penny because I always have fun walking or playing with her, I drew me, my mom, my mama and brother and sister because I love them all, I drew my friends from New York cause I really miss them, and my stuffed bunny Peter because I've had him since I was a baby." Ariana said as she stood up and pointed to each individual picture as she explained it. Damian raised his hand.

"How come you didn't draw your dad?" he asked. Ariana was speechless for a second, memories of what had happed quickly rushing to her brain. Seeing the look on Ariana's face and knowing the girl probably didn't want to answer Damian's question, Abby asked the next person to stand up and explain their picture.

"Okay everyone, let's break for snacks." Michele said once everyone had finished their picture. Ariana walked over to her bag and grabbed her lunch box.

"Hi, I'm Rebecca." Ariana heard just a few feet away. She turned around and saw Rebecca talking to Jaiden and right away Ariana became angry.

"I'm Jaiden." Jaiden introduced. Ariana watched as the two talked and with every word said the anger in her stirred more and more. No way was she letting Rebecca take away Jaiden from her. After the two had finished talking, Ariana pulled Jaiden over to the side.

"Jai, I don't think you should talk to Rebecca." Ariana said.

"How come? She seems nice." Jaiden said. Ariana's eyes grew wide.

"Nice? She's not nice. We're in the same class together and she's not even close to nice." Ariana exclaimed.

"Maybe you just didn't get to know her." Jaiden said. Before Ariana could continue Michele and Abby called the kids back to the table and they were forced to cut their conversation short.

"Okay, now were going to head out to the park across the street so everyone put on their shoes and we'll head out." Abby said. The group of kids got their things on and made their way across the street to Brookdale Park.

"I call one of the swings!" Ariana shouted as she raced over to the swing set. Without notice she felt something hit the front of her foot and she instantly lost her balance and fell on the ground.

"Oops, sorry." Rebecca said half-heartedly as she made her way onto the swing Ariana was just about to go on.

"Rebecca I was just about to go on that swing." Ariana said with a scowl.

" I beat you too it, too bad four eyes." Rebecca said.

"No, you tripped me and took it from me." Ariana fought back.

"I did not. You were just too slow." Rebecca said.

"Rebecca I want that swing, I was there first." Ariana said.

"Make me, four eyes." Rebecca said.

"How about I make you?" Ariana heard from behind her.

"Jai, why are you sticking up for this loser? I thought you were cool." Rebecca said.

"Well this loser is my best friend." Jaiden said as he took Ariana's hand in his. Rebecca's eyes widened in shock.

"You're friends with the four eyed freak?" she shrieked.

"Yeah, and she's not a freak, she's actually really nice if you took the time to actually know her." Jaiden said only gripping Ariana's hand tighter for support.

"But she doesn't even have a dad! She has two moms how weird is that?" the girl exclaimed. Ariana slightly flinched when Rebecca brought up Jacob.

"It's not weird, actually her mom's and my mom have been best friends since me and Ari were babies. And she doesn't have a dad because he was in a car accident." Jaiden replied, tears threatened to fall down Ariana's face.

"Ari was right, you are mean." Were the last words said before Jaiden took Ariana away from Rebecca, tears now down Ariana's cheeks even at the mention over what had happened with her and Jacob.

"You okay?" Jaiden asked as he brought Ariana over to an area of the park where nobody was. The little girl shook her head and hid her face in Jaiden's shoulder as she cried.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you about Rebecca, I should have trusted you and known she was trouble." Jaiden said as Ariana's tears subsided to mere sniffles.

"It's okay. Can we just stay here for a bit? I don't wanna see Rebecca again." Ariana said as she cuddled more into Jaiden's shoulder and the two stayed where they were until Michele and Abby told the kids it was time to head back for lunch. For the rest of the afternoon until everything was over Ariana and Jaiden were glued together, Rebecca just glaring at them the entire time. Finally 2:30 had arrived and Ariana waited patiently for either Alex or Mitchie to show up at the door. While she and Jaiden were finishing off one of their left over snacks they heard the door open and Alex appeared. Ariana launched herself out of her seat and ran into her mother's arms.

"Hey honey, did you have fun?" Alex asked. Ariana didn't beat around the bush and shook her head no.

" How come?" Alex asked her daughter, Ariana refused to say anything.

" This girl, Rebecca, was picking on her this morning." Jaiden piped up.

"She was calling her four eyes and making fun of her."

"Honey, why was she picking on you?" Alex asked getting down to her daughter's level.

"Can I tell you at home? I wanna leave." Ariana said. With a frown Alex nodded and after she and Ariana went to get the twins they made their way home and right after they had arrived home Alex sat her daughter down at the table, just the two of them and asked her to explain.

**Hey everyone, so thankfully Ari's gunna start getting a backbone and finally stand up to everyone who's given her a hard time. But that's all in due time, trust me, and the bullying she's experiencing is far from over, like the accident, big part of her story line. **

**R&R!**


	49. Chap 48

**Chapter 48: First Day Do Overs**

When Alex and Ariana had returned home Alex didn't hesitate to ask what was going on with her daughter and why Rachel had any reason to pick on her. For the next hour Ariana explained to Alex (and Mitchie when she had gotten home) what had been happening since she had started school in Dallas.

"Honey, why didn't you tell me or mommy?" Alex asked.

"I don't know." Ariana replied. In truth Ariana kept the bullying a secret from her mother's because she believed if they went to the principal about it, Rebecca and Lauren would only bully her more for telling on them.

"Well if they do it again, you have to tell us okay?" Mitchie said. Ariana nodded and the girls left it at that(or so Ariana thought, in reality Mitchie and Alex had phoned the school once the office was opened and told them what had gone on and they promised to keep an eye out on the girls). When school started up 2 weeks later Ariana arrived at the school grounds very nervous about Rebecca and Lauren finding her and instantly starting to pick on her, but she knew standing up to the girls was something she had to do. When the bus doors opened Ariana said a quick goodbye to Jaiden who was sitting beside her and was one of the last students off the bus. As she walked away from the bus stop Ariana began to look for Ava, Charlotte or Mandy but instead was met by the very two girls she was trying to avoid.

"Oh look, four eyes is back." Lauren snickered.

"Where's your friend from summer camp four eyes? Did he see what a loser you were and stop hanging out with you?" Rebecca asked. The two girls began to laugh and Ariana finally found the courage she had needed since she had arrived at Jameson Elementary.

"Guy's, quit it! Quit calling me four eyes, quit making fun of my friends just quit it!" Ariana exclaimed, quickly ending the girls laughter.

"Why should we listen to you four eyes? We can do whatever we want." Rebecca snapped.

"No, you can't, not when you're picking on other kids, that's wrong." Ariana replied making sure to firmly stand her ground.

"What did I ever do to you anyway?"

"Nothing, you're just a four eyed loser that…" Rebecca was about to go on but an adults voice broke through hers.

"What was that Rebecca?" one of the supervisors asked.

"I…Um…" Rebecca tried her best to come up with something but came up short.

"Rebecca I'd like you to come to the principal's office with me, you to Ariana and Lauren." The supervisor asked and the three girls were whisked into the principal's office and brought in one at a time to talk.

"So, Ariana, what exactly was Rebecca saying to you?" Principal Sheppard asked.

"She was calling me a four eyed loser." Ariana replied.

"And saying that my friend Jaiden didn't hang out with me anymore because he saw I was a loser. Lauren was saying that too, that Jaiden didn't like me anymore"

"Is this the first time either of them had done this?" Principal Sheppard asked. Ariana didn't hesitate to shake her head.

"They've been doing that since last year when I moved here." Ariana replied.

"I was asking Rebecca why she picked on me when Ms. McKessie got there."

"Don't worry Ariana, I'll make sure both of them stop picking on you." Principal Sheppard promised.

"You are free to go, do you think you could ask Rebecca and Lauren to come in please?"

Ariana nodded and left her seat and when she opened the door she was met by two pairs of glaring eyes.

"Principal Sheppard wants to see you guys." Ariana said without an ounce of fear in her voice, something she wasn't quite used to when talking to Rebecca. The girls continued to glare at her as they got up from their seats and headed into Principal Sheppard's office while Ariana headed to class.

"Hello, you must be Ariana, I'm Mr. Williams and I'll be your teacher this year." Mr. Williams introduced as Ariana opened the door.

"May I ask why you're late?"

"I was talking with Principal Sheppard in his office, I'm sorry it won't happen again." Ariana said.

"That's perfectly fine Ariana. We just started working on our U.S map for Social Studies if you'd like to start." Mr. Williams said showing Ariana her desk behind a boy named Carlo and he handed her a blank map and an atlas for checking to see if she was right. Just as Ariana was beginning to check over her map, Principal Sheppard walked in with Lauren and Rebecca beside him. Mr. Williams walked over and after a few whispered words between the two teachers Mr. Williams called Ariana over to the door.

"Ariana, Principal Sheppard and the girls would like to talk to you for a minute outside." Mr. Williams told her and Ariana was brought outside with the Principal and two girls.

"Ariana, Lauren and Rebecca would like to say something to you." Principal Sheppard said.

"Lauren, Rebecca."

"I'm sorry Ariana." Rebecca apologized. Ariana searched for any signs that the girl was faking her apology but she saw nothing.

"Me too, I'm sorry." Lauren followed, again Ariana found no sign of the girl faking so she eased up.

"Thanks you guys." Ariana said.

"No if I hear of you two picking on Ariana again I will be calling your parents in." Principal Sheppard warned. Both girls looked up and nodded nervously at their principal.

"You may head to class now girls." Principal Sheppard told them and both Rebecca and Lauren headed down the hall to their classroom (much to Ariana's relief both Rebecca and Lauren were placed in the other 4th grade class) and Ariana headed back into class where they were going over their maps.

"Okay everyone after recess we'll take a look at what we'll start covering what we'll do in Language Arts." Mr. Williams said as the lunch bell rang and all the students were dismissed.

"Ari!" Ariana heard a familiar voice call from across the school grounds. Ariana looked over with a huge smile on her face and turned around to see Mandy running over to her.

"MANDY!" Ariana shrieked as she too started running and brought Mandy into a huge hug.

"Where were you this morning? I was looking all over for you, so were Ava and Charlotte." Mandy asked.

"I was in the principal's office. One of the supervisors caught Rebecca picking on me and they had to apologize after I told Principal Sheppard that it wasn't the first time they picked on me." Ariana explained.

"Well at least they got what was coming to them." Mandy said. Ariana just laughed and the girls headed off to the swings to tell each other all about their summers since they hadn't seen each other since early July before Mandy went on her summer long vacation to see her dad who lived in Chicago.

"So do you think that Rebecca and Lauren are actually going to leave you alone?" Mandy asked.

"I don't know, it seemed like they were sorry but I don't know if they'll stop picking on me." Ariana replied honestly.

"I hope they do, I'm tired of them calling me four eyes and a loser."

"Don't worry, if they try to pick on you again just go to Principal Sheppard again." Mandy advised.

"Yeah he said he would call their parents if they were caught picking on me again." Ariana said, trying her best not to laugh remembering the look of terror on the girl's faces when their parents were brought into the situation. The bell rang and the two girls said goodbye as they headed off to their respective classrooms.

"Okay everyone pull out a note book to start our journals." Mr. Williams asked and everyone pulled out a fresh notebook from their desks. For their first journal everyone had to write about what they had done over the summer and some of the students were asked to share their stories with everyone. Ariana was chosen to read hers aloud and she had written about how her siblings had turned 3 and they threw a small party for them once the Reid's had arrived, how she had helped the Reid's move into their new house just a few houses away from them and finally her experience at the week long summer camp. Everyone applauded once Ariana was done reading and the little girl beamed with pride, so far, fourth grade was turning out to be a much better year than 3rd grade. After everyone was dismissed for lunch Ariana once again headed off with Mandy, Ava and Charlotte to play and within no time the first day of school was finished. As the bell rang Ariana was called to the office and there was a message from Alex saying she would be picking her up after school and to not get on the bus. Ariana waited about 5 minutes with her friends before she saw Alex's car coming down the street

"I'll see you guys later!" Ariana called out as she saw Alex pull up in front of the school.

"See ya!" the three girls called out and Ariana rushed over to the SUV and hopped in with her mom.

"How was your first day honey?" Alex asked as her daughter shut the door.

"Good, we did a map and I was the only one to get all of it right!" Ariana smiled proudly.

"That's great Ari." Alex beamed.

"Yeah, and Rebecca and Lauren tried to pick on me again but the supervisor caught them and we got sent to the principal's office and when I told him what happened he told them if they picked on me again he'd call their parents." Ariana told her.

"I'm so proud of you baby. I'm glad you finally told someone and they did something about it." Alex said giving her daughter a hug.

"Okay, now we have to go pick up Jaiden and then Trent, Anna and Caitlin." Alex said.

"Jai and Caitlin are coming over?" Ariana asked.

"Yeah, Aunt Ali phoned me earlier and asked if they could stay over for a little while, Aunt Ali just started at her new job and Uncle Chase will be at work late too." Alex replied.

"Mama, how come you came to pick me up today and I didn't have to go on the bus?" Ariana asked as they drove over to Jaiden's school.

"Well I found out this morning that now I'll be able to do a lot more of my work at home and only have to be at the office in the morning so now instead of catching the bus every day in the morning and after school you'll only have to grab the bus in the morning and I'll be able to pick you up after school." Alex explained. They pulled up outside Jaiden's school and Ariana saw him wave to a few of his new friends (or so she assumed that's what they were) and he jumped into the vehicle.

"Hey kiddo, how was your first day?" Alex asked as Jaiden shut the door.

"It was good, the guys in my class are really cool." Jaiden replied with a smile.

"That's good, okay so we just gotta go pick up the twins and your sister and we'll head to our place okay?" Alex asked. Jaiden nodded and they drove off to the day care center about 5 minutes away.

"Hey Alex." The daycare center manager, Tiffany, greeted as Alex, Ariana and Jaiden walked in the building.

"Hey Tiff, this is my older daughter Ariana and her friend Jaiden." Alex introduced.

"Hi guys." Tiffany greeted the two children.

"Well the kids are just in the next room if you wanna follow me I'll bring you to them." Tiffany said she led them down the hall and into one of the play rooms.

"Anna, Trenton, your mama's here." Tiffany said and the two children looked up and saw their mother standing in the door way.

"Mama!" both toddlers shrieked as they ran the best they could over to their mother.

"Hey guys. Caitlin sweetie you're coming with us too." Alex said to the almost 2 year old who was playing with some of the other kids.

"Cai's comin'?" Anna asked her mother, a huge smile on her face.

"Yeah Jaiden and Caitlin are over to play for a bit." Alex replied.

"Yay! Come on Cai!" Anna said making her way through the group of toddlers and taking the younger girls hand and bringing her with her over to Alex.

"We go now?" Anna asked still holding onto Caitlin's hand tightly.

"Yep we can go now, let's get our stuff on and head out to the car now." Alex said trying to grab Anna's hand while Ariana grabbed Trenton's.

"No, hold Cai's hand." Anna said not even trying to grab onto her mother's hand. Alex watched in amusement as her youngest daughter toddled along with Caitlin to get their stuff on(of course Anna took the liberty of helping the younger girl get her jacket and shoes on) and then they walked with each other to the SUV but when Anna tried to open the door she couldn't quite get it open.

"Mama, help!" Anna called out and Alex only laughed and opened the door for the two younger girls. Alex buckled the three toddlers into the car seats and with that they headed off to the house, everyone's first day back at school and daycare a complete success.

**Hey guys! So I'm way excited to be writing this story again, took me a bit to get into the swing of writing this fic again but I'm pretty sure I can do it haha. I know this seems a bit of a fillerish chapter, especially for the first one back, but don't worry, I got new plans up my sleeve that I hope y'all love**

**See ya Friday!**

**R&R!**


	50. Chap 49

**Chapter 49: Lights, Camera, Action!  
**

The first two months of school for Ariana came and went and so far 4th grade was much better than 3rd. Lauren and Rebecca had almost completely laid off their bullying (although they still picked at Ariana every now and again but quickly covered with an apology so Ariana wouldn't go to the principal who would call their parents) and Ariana was one of the top students in her class. It was the first week of November and Mr. Williams had told his class he had a surprise for them after recess. It seemed like Mr. Williams had been planning this surprise for a while so throughout recess classmates discussed with one another what the surprise could be. Various ideas went around in the 15 minute period and when the bell went all of Mr. Williams students ran back to class so they could see what this surprise was.

"Okay everyone so Ms. Thomson and I have been working on this for a while and we have decided that her class and ours will put on a production of 'The Wizard of Oz'" Mr. Williams announced.

"Of course everyone will be able to try out for parts and if you don't feel like getting up on stage you can help out with the sets and behind the scenes work."

Ariana's eyes widened at this announcement. She had seen "The Wizard of Oz" multiple times and knew that she just _had _to get the role of Dorothy.

"Mr. Williams, when will we be able to try out?" Ariana asked.

"We will hold try outs next Thursday so that gives you 10 days to practice your lines and sign up to try out for the part you want." Mr. Williams answered.

"I'm going to hand out several sheets of paper and when you come to try out you'll be reciting theses lines for me and Ms. Thomson."

Mr. Williams handed out a booklet of paper containing lines for each character in the play and Ariana spent no time in heading right to Dorothy's part. She was going to learn these lines inside and out, maybe her mama and mommy would even help her learn her lines, and she would be the next Dorothy Gale.

"The sign-up sheet will be up at lunch so feel free to sign up between now and next Wednesday."

With Mr. Williams' announcement several students began studying the lines they were given before Mr. Williams made them focus on the up-coming math quiz. The lunch bell rang and Ariana rushed to find Mandy to ask her if she was trying out for the play.

"Yeah! I'm trying out for the part of the good witch of the east." Mandy replied with a smile.

"Cool! Maybe you could sleep over this weekend and we can practice our lines!" Ariana exclaimed.

"Okay, what part are you trying out for?" Mandy asked.

"Dorothy." Ariana replied. A worried look came over Mandy's face.

"Um…Rebecca's trying out for Dorothy too." Mandy warned her friend. Ariana knew that Rebecca was quite a competitive girl and with Ariana trying out for the same part both Ariana and Mandy knew it could spell trouble. Ariana simply shrugged it off and played it like she wasn't worried but a part of her was. What if Rebecca got really mad that she got the part and she didn't? She and Lauren just started laying off bullying her, and she didn't want them to start again over a part in a play. Doing her best to put that behind her she waited until lunch was over and made sure to be one of the first to put her name down on the try out list.

"Mama! Guess what?" Ariana exclaimed as she got into her mother's car, her brother and sister happily occupied with toys in the backseat.

"I'm trying out for our 'Wizard Of Oz' play."

"That's so cool honey, what part are you trying out for?" Alex asked.

"Dorothy, and Mandy's trying out for the good witch of the East." Ariana replied.

"Well that's cool. Do you need any help with anything?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, do you think you could help me with practicing my lines? I have until next Thursday to learn them." Ariana said.

"Sure, we can work on them when we get home and a bit after dinner." Alex promised. The 4 Russo's headed home and Ariana dug the script out from her backpack and looked her lines over during the 10 minute drive. Alex watched her oldest daughter concentrate on the papers in front of her and could easily see how badly Ariana wanted this part. When they pulled up to the house Ariana rushed into the living room and continued to read her lines, thinking of the best ways to deliver them so she was guaranteed the lead role.

"Hey sweetie." Mitchie smiled as she leaned over the couch and gave her daughter a kiss on the foreheaed.

"Have a good day at school?"

"Yeah, our class and 's class are going to do Wizard of Oz and I'm gunna try out for Dorothy." Ariana told her.

"That's great honey. When are you trying out?"

"Next Thursday. Is it okay if Mandy sleeps over this weekend so we can practice our lines? She's trying out for the Good Witch of The East."

"Sure, I don't see why not, did you already ask mama?" Mitchie asked.

"No, I forgot to." Ariana replied.

"Well let's ask her too just to be sure." Mitchie said and the 9 year old agreed then continued to study her lines. When dinner was ready Ariana made sure with Alex that Mandy was allowed to sleepover that weekend and the next day the girls discussed what their schedule would be for the night. When Friday night came around Ariana waited patiently for Mandy to come over.

"Finally!" Ariana exclaimed as she saw her friends vehicle pull up in front of her house. As she saw Mandy come up the driveway Ariana flung the front door open and rushed over to her friend.

"Come on! Mommy said she would help us with our lines!" Ariana said as she grabbed part of her friends things and brought them inside. After the girls brought their things into Ariana's room they sat down with Mitchie in the living room and rehearsed their lines. The scene they were given was near the end when Dorthy heads back to Kansas with the help of Glinda and the red ruby slippers.

"Goodbye, Tin Man. Oh, don't cry. You'll rust so dreadfully. Here, here's your oil-can. Goodbye." Ariana recited handing Mitchie their makeshift oil can.

"Now I know I've got a heart, cause it's breaking." Mitchie said, putting on her best tin man voice.

"Goodbye, Lion. You know, I know it isn't right, but I'm going to miss the way you used to holler for help before you found your courage." Ariana continued

"Well I would never've found it if it hadn't been for you." Mitchie told her, once again manipulating her voice to sound like the lions the best she could.

"I think I'll miss you most of all." Ariana said and she gave Mitchie a quick hug just as Dorothy did to the Scarecrow.

"Are you ready now?" Mandy asked

"Yes. Say goodbye, Toto." Ariana replied, making one of Anna's stuffed Dogs wave its paw

"Yes, I'm ready now." Ariana confirmed looking at her best friend

"Then close your eyes, and tap your heels together three times. And think to yourself - "There's no place like home; there's no place like home; there's no place like home."

The two girls chanted together until they were finished and Alex smiled and applauded them.

"You guys did great!" Alex exclaimed.

"You'll definitely get the parts." The girls shared confident smiles and after running through their lines once more they settled down in the living room with popcorn and a movie before calling it a night. Just under a week later Ariana woke up more than ready to face the day. That day at lunch time the auditions for "The Wizard of Oz" were happening and just as she had promised herself Ariana memorized that script inside and out, to the point where she didn't even need the script anymore. To set herself out from the rest Ariana took one of her baby blue summer dresses and wore a plain white dress shirt under it, almost resembling Dorothy and asked Alex to put her hair in braids.

"Good luck honey." Mitchie said giving her daughter a hug before Alex took her up to the bus stop.

"Thanks mommy, see you later." Ariana said.

"Luck Awi!" Trenton called out, and Anna soon followed.

"Thanks guys." Ariana smiled giving her siblings a hug before she and Alex headed out the door.

"Knock 'em dead honey." Alex said causing Ariana to giggle as she gave her mother a hug.

"I will, bye Mama" Ariana said as she got onto the bus. As the bus pulled up to the school Ariana already saw Mandy standing by the stop waiting for her, she was wearing a light pink dress to slightly resemble the good witch of the east and her hair was slightly curlier than usual.

"I'm so excited! Last night my mom and dad helped me with my lines and said if they don't give me the part they're nuts." Mandy said with a giggle.

"That's what Mom and mama said too, they've been helping me all week with my lines, and mama helped me with my Dorothy outfit." Ariana said as the bell rang and the two girls headed into the school to their classroom. Ariana watched the clock impatiently most of the morning, wanting it so badly to be lunch hour but time seemed to be crawling that day. When the lunch bell rang after an extremely long wait, Ariana rushed out of her seat and grabbed her things to head down to the small gym where the auditions were being held. The kids were being brought out in groups to audition, each character being represented in each group, and after each group was done the teachers were going to post the cast list up before the end of the day.

"Okay group 4 we're ready." Ms. Thomson called out. Ariana jumped right out of her seat and rushed into the gym.

"Okay so Ariana as Dorothy, Michael as the scarecrow, Tyler as the lion, Micah as Tin man and Mandy as Glinda, is that right?" Ms. Thomson asked. The children nodded and she gave them each a warm smile.

"Ari, Mandy where are your scripts?" Ms. Thomson asked.

"Oh,we practiced a lot, we don't need them anymore." Ariana replied, the teachers looked impressed and began to write things down on sheets of paper in front of them.

"Okay, you may begin."

The girls and 3 boys played out the scene wonderfully, both Ariana and Mandy didn't miss a single word of their lines but the three boys did fumble on a word or two.

"Fantastic job guys!" Mr. Williams and Ms. Thomson commented.

"We'll be posting the cast list in each classroom before the end of the day."

"Thank you." The group of children said as they walked off the stage and the final group was called in, and of course who else be in the final group for Dorothy other than Rebecca. As Ariana finished off her lunch she found the time yet again going by at an insanely slow pace. She had been waiting so long to see if she had gotten the part, and now time was playing a cruel trick on her making her wait longer than she deemed necessary. At around quarter to three Mr. Williams got out of his seat and placed a sheet of paper under the "Wizard Of Oz Play" Board they had set up to inform the class about what would be needed for the play.

"Students, for those of you who auditioned for the play the cast list is up." Mr. Williams told his class and right away every student who tried out was right up at the board. Many left with frowns on their face but there were still those who came out from the group of children beaming with pride. Finally Ariana made it through the crowd of children and managed to read the list.

**Dorothy Gale - Ariana Russo**

"I got the part!" Ariana exclaimed with excitement.

"Yes you did, we were very impressed with how well you did, even more so that you and Mandy were the only two that didn't need assistance with your scripts." Mr. Williams said.

"So she's Glinda?" Ariana asked. Mr. Williams nodded and Ariana smiled wide. As soon as the bell rang Ariana rushed to find her best friend and congratulate her.

"We got the parts!" Ariana exclaimed as she saw her best friend and they both brought each other into a hug.

"This is going to be so awesome!" Mandy said with a huge smile.

"Oh please, they only gave you those parts cause they felt sorry for you rejects." came a voice from behind the girls. Ariana rolled her eyes and looked over at Rebecca standing behind her.

"Lay off Rebecca, you'll have another chance at the lead." Ariana said. As luck would have it Alex chose that time to pull up and Ariana gave her friend a quick hug before running over to the car, sharing her excitement with her mother as they drove off.

**Hey guys! So since I've gotten a few reviews lately wanting to bring this story back I decided I'd give it a shot. Admittedly I have missed writing this story a lot and I've had this chapter sitting on my computer for the longest time but I just never got to posting it. I'm in the middle of writing the next chapter and I'm not sure when I'll be able to post it with all the crazyness going on with my family all being here right now(the first time we're all together in 7 years, I'm really hoping we don't all kill each other by the time everyone's ready to leave haha). So I hope you all enjoyed and hopefully the next chap will be up soon =)**


	51. A Question For My Lovely Readers

**Hey, y'all :)**

**I'm getting started on the new chapter of Words Between Us tonight but first I wanted to ask you a question regarding this story.**

**Now, I don't think I will be doing the rest of the chapters for this story, but would you guys like a(fairly long) one-shot about how everything ends? I've been thinking about this idea a lot and was just wondering about those who still read this story think :) It will be published sometime this month if y'all are interested.**

**Any feedback is awesome and greatly appreciated **

**MRA**


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